A New Kind of Training
by 5seedapple
Summary: Leo and Tabitha-Lynn/ Tasha's story. A hard core chef who likes to give orders is pulled into the Hamato's crazy life as Karai plots her revenge. Leo braves new choices and worries, one of them being a dark skinned girl who is really good with a knife. With a growing family below ground and a blooming desire for someone above, will Leo be able to keep his balance? Third story.
1. Chapter 1

This is it! _**A New Kind of Training!**_ Leo and Tabitha-Lynn's story. Thanks to all of you that have come to read it. It means a lot to me that I have such a wonderful crowd of people like you all.

 _ **Disclaimer! I do not own TMNT in any way, shape or form! Unless you count plushies and other novelties that I've spent way too much money on… Any way, this disclaimer applies to ALL chapters of this story! All the legal mambo jumbo, stuff counts and what not.**_

Also, this is a MATURE (M- RATED) STORY, IF YOU'RE NOT MATURE, DON'T READ IT! There are going to be a lot, and I do mean, a lot, of mature topics and points of view. If you're incapable of understanding that and respecting it, don't read this. I don't want some 11 year old's mom reporting my stuff because they were caught reading something they shouldn't have been. This also applies to all chapters of this story.

Okay, so, for those of you that are new, this is the third story in my little arch. The first was **System Malfunction** then, **Cooking Up Mayhem.** If you want, go and read those first. If not, well then good luck not being confused, my little rebel.

*)O(*

He was NOT trained for this! His palms were sweating and his heart was exploding in his ears. "Oh, my god, what do I do? What do I do? Help me!" He looked over the situation again and again, still trying to come to terms with it. It couldn't be happening, not now, not this. "Leo, shut up! I need to get to the lab." Sara was red-faced and huffing. Sweat was beading on her brow and upper lip as she strained to stand up straight. A large purple night shirt barely covered her bottom and lower, between her legs and down them, was blood. "Dad! Dad!" He yelled as he grabbed Sara, lifting her in his arms. He'd made it to the lab door when his father appeared before him, holding it open. "Hurry, my son."

"She's bleeding," he croaked as he laid the woman who'd become his sister on the medical bed.

"Call your brother, now." The sureness and authority in his father's old voice helped to calm him. He fumbled with his phone pressing every emergency button on the face of it. Everyone would soon be home. He had a brief flash back of telling Donnie that it would be okay, that his little brother could go look at the city for a moment. He would take care of Sara, no problem. Guilt fell heavy on his soul. It was crushing as he finally called his brother. "Donnie," he whispered, his voice small in comparison to his emotions. "It's Sara, there's blood." There was a sharp intake of air on the other side of the phone. "I need your help, how do I help her?"

"Call April. I'm going to need a second pair of steady hands." Leo heard anger, betrayal and most of all, fear in his little brother's voice. Maybe he'd imagined the first two, but he knew, somehow, this was his fault. "Let- Let me talk to her." He put his phone on speaker and put it close to Sara's face. "Donnie?" Sara's voice was as pained as she looked. "If you miss me giving birth to your kids, I swear I'll kick your shell." The sad laugh on the other side of the phone tore at Leo's heart. "Just hold on, I wouldn't miss this for the world." A small 'blup' and the call ended. Immediately he called April. "Leo, what's going on? Mine and Casey's phone are saying there's an emergency in the lair."

"There is, I need you here, now."

"Got it." April paused after her affirmative statement. "Is it… Sara?"

"Yes, April, she needs you. Donnie is on his way, but you need to hurry." Another call ended tone and he looked down at the screen. He'd done all he knew how.

Sara's face was still red. That was a good sign, he knew. It wasn't until someone went pale that things really went all to hell. He hoped his brother would get here in time. Sara groaned. His eyes shot to her. She was flailing, trying to grip something. Master Splinter held her other hand but he could see that his sister needed him. He grabbed her hand. Her grip was strong, even on his oversized hand. He'd probably have a bruise in the outline of her fingers. Pained moans escaped her before she threw her head back and screamed. "Fuck! My water broke!" She huffed after what Leo could only guess was a contraction ended.

Mik strode into the room. The white rat with red and brown highlights was a blessing to the untrained men. Briskly, she moved through the room, appearing like a calm doctor ready to get on with their rounds. "Sara, remember to breathe." The female rat ordered. Leo looked slightly away when Mik pushed up Sara's shirt and took off her bloodied underwear before covering her with a thin sheet. "Leo, go grab a cold wash cloth. Splinter, just make sure she doesn't actually break your hand." A small smile graced his lips before he ran off to get the cloth. He was back before the next contraction hit. His hand suffered, but he didn't mind.

Sara was in pain, she tried not to show it when she wasn't having a contraction, but they could all see it. He counted the contractions, it was his only real measure of time. Twelve. That was how long it took for both April and Donnie to appear. She was crying as she made an almost constant buzzing sound in her throat. The sound picked at his memory. Mikey used to do it when he was getting stitches. It was a suppressed scream. Too proud to make too much sound but it in too much pain not to. Donnie scooted Sara down the bed and put her legs in stirrups. "He's breach."

*)O(*

She cursed and threw a pan. "Can't you do anything right? The hell is wrong with you? I said I need them sautéed not burned to a crisp! Get the hell out of my kitchen!" It was crunch time and her new sues chef had fucked up for the last time. "Tammy, get your ass in my kitchen, now!"

The server stood her ground, "Yes, chef?"

"Cut up some more mushrooms and onions, sauté them, don't burn them!" Why couldn't people just follow her instructions? It wasn't like she was asking them to do some giant miracle. Some simple team work and following her instructions and everything would go perfectly. They just had to listen.

"Tabitha-Lynn!" She knew that roar. Only one person could sound so insufferable and infuriated at the same time. A tall, fat, red-faced man pushed his way through the kitchen. "Richie! Thank goodness, I'm going to need another-"

"You're not getting anything but fired!" The man raged, waving a finger in her face. Years as someone lower on the pillar stopped her short from taking that finger and breaking it. "This is my restaurant and I've lost more people in the past few months you've been here than I have had employed here since I opened this place! I'm done! Done!"

"Now Richie," She soothed, trying to calm him down as anger boiled below her surface. "You've seen what I can do. You know how much better this place has been since I've been here. All those people were-"

"A lawsuit!" Richie screamed, loud enough for some of the patrons to hear. This was news to her and she sputtered in her cool response. "You've harassed countless new workers."

"It's not my fault the kitchen-"

"The kitchen isn't 'too hot' for them, your temper is! You there, girl, whatever your name is," Richie pointed to the girl she'd chosen to fix the last mess up. He had insulted her, dismissed her. "You're in charge for the rest of the night. Feed the rest of our guest and if everything goes well, you might just be the new chef." Richie tugged on his suit and pulled at his tie. The heat of his temper not losing it's warmth in the kitchen. "Richie," she tried, softly.

"Just get out, Tabitha-Lynn. I'll pay you for the vacation time you've gathered, and any sick days you have left, but you're not my employee anymore."

Her anger flared. She'd worked hard to get here, to be the top chef in one of the best restaurants in New York. It wasn't the most popular, but it served good food to wealthy people. Her pay was great and she lived her life knowing she'd accomplished her dream. This fat, pompous man was taking all that away from her because some snot-nosed brats couldn't handle being scolded and being told they had failed. She'd put up with worse. She'd fought to get to where she was, to have her title and all its perks.

Clever in shaking hand she blinked back the bite of her own failure. She cleared her throat and untied her apron. "I also want a good recommendation to the next place I apply." She said more coolly than she felt. "Or when you beg me to come back, I'll just sit back and watch this place catch fire." Her tone and gesture left Richie and the other girl visibly uncomfortable. She smiled as she slammed the clever into the middle of her apron before storming out of the building.

It was mid summer and the night was cool but full of energy out side of the restaurant. The buildings held heat from the day and the brick was warm under her hands as she leaned against one to steady herself.

She wasn't worried about money. The loss of the job wouldn't affect her for a couple months as long as she stuck to her budget. The sting to her pride was what hurt her and left her cheeks flushed. Taking a few breaths and steadying herself, she looked at the dark alley. This was a better part of town, but the risks to her as a single woman alone at night were still great. Shoving the growing shame in her chest away, she lifted her chin and began her march to her apartment.

*)O(*

She looked down. There they were. As fat and puffy as Sara felt, love soared in her. Her babies were squirming in her arms. Three little babies, her babies. She had held off on naming them until this moment. They hadn't really been able to tell the sex so she'd held back. Now she was sure. One little girl and two boys. Triplets in need of a name and food.

Donnie had went over every crevice and scute on them. The boys had three fingers and five toes on each hand and foot, but the girl had a full set, five fingers and toes. Like normal turtles their shells were soft at this point. What none of them could have guessed was her daughter. Her plastron wasn't fully there, only the bottom half. The top half was closer to human, two small areolas that if she guessed right would become human breast with age. Lots, and lots of age, she hoped.

They were green, but only her daughter was as dark as her mate. The boys were lighter, with a softer shade and hints of pink under the green. All of them spotted something Sara was currently fascinated with. Fuzz, on top of their heads, which meant hair. All of them had brown little tufts of it, another detail that any ultrasound she could have had wouldn't have been able to spot.

Their heads were slightly more human shaped. Their jaws weren't as wide as she thought a mix of her a Donnie would turn out to be. They all had tiny little noses that, as horrible as the image was, reminded her of a pug's nose. They were turned up and barely protruding, but the little nostrils flared as her children breathed in a quiet moment.

"It's a good thing you're not allowed to have sex for at least six weeks after birth anyway, you're going to have one hell of a recovery in front of you." April said with sympathy as she emerged from between Sara's legs. A needle and thread clattered down onto the steel medical tray. The sheet she still had over her legs cut off everything but April's head as Sara looked down at her friend. "With three of them, it might be even longer than that," she chuckled. Donnie's hand touched her still sweaty forehead, making her turn her attention to him. "It will be as long as it takes for you to get better and feel up to it. May I hold one of them?"

Her mate's eyes shone down at her and she felt the pride radiating off him. It had been difficult at first, and she'd felt fear like she never had before, but everything turned out okay. In a weird lucky twist the blood that had scared her and poor Leo so badly had been from one of her placentas rupturing slightly from one of the kids pushing against it for space. It hadn't caused any actual problems for her. The larger boy had come breach, even that had been scarier than she could have imagined. The other two were easier, but not easy. Hell, she was proud of herself.

"Take the boys," she nodded to him. Her breast ached and some what burned. Then she felt something she'd only recently become accustomed to. Lactation was going to be easy with the way she leaked all the time. This time there was even some relief for her. Setting her daughter down in her lap, Sara pulled up her shirt, exposing herself. Clear colostrums leaked from her nipples and the shirt was already growing damp. As best she could, she situated her daughter to nurse.

Once she latched on her other breast gushed. Embarrassed, but also a little relieved, she looked to Donnie. "I guess it's a good thing I had more than one. Give me one of them." Donnie chuckled and handed over the smaller boy. It was difficult trying to maneuver with one baby at her breast already. Donnie tried to help, but with his hands occupied he just managed to aid in her frustration. Finally April swooped in and helped.

"So, names?" April asked. Sara's mind went fuzzy as her son latched as well. It was a weird feeling but it was comforting. "It's up to her, she deserves it after all of this." Donnie beamed.

"Damn right I do." She chuckled. The pain was starting to come back, throbbing between her legs in a way that was far from pleasant. They'd toyed with names, not settling on one right away because of the issue with gender but she'd had some ideas. "Jillian Lilith. Jordan Hahen. Donald Elliot." Sara decided.

"Hahen, isn't that-" April started

"My name in Japanese, yes, I do believe so." Splinter beamed as he entered the room. Mik, Splinter and Leo had all left the room when all of the babies had been pronounce safe and sound. She silently sent a thank you to her older brother. She'd probably scared him the most. "What? What about me? Did I get one named after me too?" Mikey's voice nearly echoed in the room. Jordan stirred in his dad's arms and Sara cut her little brother a look as he entered the room. "The 'mom look' is official, I get it," he laughed at a lower volume.

"You'll probably get that look more than the kids will," Becca chuckled. The blond pushed Mikey into the room the rest of the way, letting Leo and Raph followed by Casey into the room. Marcus and Mik were last, barely fitting in as the room was suddenly crowded. Four mutant turtles and two giant rats plus four humans was a tight squeeze into the small part of the lab.

"I guess that it's visiting hours," Donnie laughed. "Jordan first, then when they're done eating we'll get to Jillian and Donald." Sara smiled at her fiancé. She'd already warned everyone that she was going to breastfed and that she wasn't going to 'cover up' every time her kids needed her. She'd be polite and try not to do it at the dinner table, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't feed her kids when they needed to be fed. "Everyone wash your hands before you handle the kids. Their immune systems are going to have a tough time as it is, lets not make it harder on them." Donnie commanded as he lined up his family by the sink.

Guilt stabbed Sara, but she bit her lip and started to accept the praise that came her way for doing such a good job. It was still a while off, but her kids wouldn't grow up without the sunlight. They wouldn't play in the beams left from sewer grates or wade threw filthy waters. She accepted and appreciated that it had been the only childhood Donnie had known, but their jobs as parents was to make sure their kids had a better life than they had. Sara was going to do her part in that, even if it did have to be a secret for now.

Jillian was the first to be done, falling asleep and having a tiny bit of milk fall out of her mouth when Sara broke the latch. It was stupidly cute, making her stop and share it with everyone else. The majority of her family still wasn't sure how to approach her when she had a breast out, so it was all nervous smiles. She took Jordan from rotation and started to feed him. It was easier getting situated this time, but he was more difficult than the other two to get latched. Teasing, she looked down at him and scolded, "Is this how you're always going to be? I don't think so, mister." His little unfocused eyes blinked at her before he gave a coo and latched as if he understood everything she'd said.

The babies made their rounds. As much as she trusted every person in the room, Sara couldn't relax until her babies were back in her arms. Her eyes got heavy and fatigue hit her hard. She didn't even notice that Leo and Raph had disappeared then reappeared. Now a pristine, over sized crib sat next to her bed. "No nursery here, momma, is this gonna be alright?" Heavy looking metal bars that were closely spaced enclosed the wrought frame. She'd never seen this before. It was painted in a rainbow of blue, orange, red, purple and green. A pure white sheet covered a firm looking mattress. It was beautiful. She smiled and nodded.

Donnie took the kids and put them in it. One of the lights she had for her plants was hooked up to a chain and dangled above the bed. It was essential for them to get UV rays and to stay warm. It was going to be an odd mix of raising little reptiles and kids all mixed into one. Her eye lids drooped. "Rest, love, I've got them for a while. I'll wake you up if they get hungry." Just like that, she was asleep. Her body spent and her mind at rest for the first time since she'd found out she was pregnant.

*)O(*

Alright! How was it? Did you like it? I hope so. Not even 50% on if a ruptured placenta near the time of birth would cause what I described, but I wanted you all to worry, just a little. I love you…

Of course everyone else's stories are continuing in this one. I just couldn't wait to get Sara's pregnancy done with and start working with the group as an expanded family. I pulled on some of my personal experience as a mom who gave birth and my personal view on breastfeeding. 'Breast is best.' Yes, but having a happy baby is even better and I am not shaming any mom who chose to bottle feed for any reason. It's your life, your baby, and your choice, just like it's Sara's to do as she so pleases. For anyone who thinks public breastfeeding is gross, you're not going to like my writing from now on, most likely, as I will be mentioning it again. Babies are often hungry, and there's three of them.

I want to take a few lines to thank everyone for being so patient. I was planning on uploading this the same day I finished Cooking up Mayhem, but postponed it because I didn't like the way I had it the first time. I feel like this flows better and hope that everyone had a good read. Many thanks and I hope to see you all again soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Pain, like he'd never felt before consumed his head. At every renewed breath of his nephew, Leo's head split open. Sara had already fed him, changed him, burped him, and let him warm up under the sun lamp. Leo had offered to help, but he was at his limit. Swaying, rocking, bouncing, and countless pats on the back had done nothing to calm Jordan. It was usually a combination that would eventually calm the tiny creature, but today was not going well at all.

Donald and Jillian followed their older brother in their cries. Sara hadn't been able to get the other two fed yet because of it. The frustrated tears she leaked left tracks on her cheeks. Donnie was trying to console Donald and had seemed to run out of ideas like the rest of them. Everything was bleak as Jordan began to scream again, causing Leo to wish for a nunchuck to the head to lessen the pain.

"That's it! Give 'em to me." Raph growled as he stomped out of his room. He was aggravated, but still respectable. Also, Leo knew Raph would never hurt one of the kids. Handing Jordan over, Leo hoped Raph would have a breakthrough with the crying green ball of irritability. Gentle, a sheer contrast to the displeasure clear on Raph's face, his younger brother took Jordan. A soft growl was released from low in Raph's throat and Jordan seized in the middle of another cry to look at the giant brute. "I know you're the ring leader here, so knock it off."

Jordan, Leo stared, cocked his head at Raph. If the boy had been old enough, Leo was sure he'd be giving Raph a piece of his mind. Instead, Jordan tried to start crying again. Taking in a deep breath and looking like he was getting ready to cry as loud as his little body could, Jordan let out one little squeak before Raph growled again. Jordan stayed silent until the next sound was a cooing giggle.

Leo sighed in relief. Two echoing sighs followed. Leo looked from the corner of his eye to see similar relief on Sara and Donnie's faces. "I'm going to find somewhere quiet. I'll be back soon." He said, bee lining for the lair door. Once outside of the door, he felt guilt for running away. He started to jog. Even though the lair itself was soundproof, he didn't want to chance catching the echoes of a cry at that moment. He told himself that if he got his blood flowing, his headache would ease and he would be able to brave going back inside.

He needed a break. His guilt had kept him inside the lair for eight days. As much as he already loved his niece and nephews, they weren't his kids. He had the privilege to get up and go if he needed to. So, he went, following twist and turns. So natural to him, it was as if he was tracing his own veins.

After a few minutes his headache got worse, the blood pumping harder. He let the rhythm of his run clam him. Relaxing as much as possible, his pain started to lessen. He remained aloof while staying completely aware of his surroundings. These tunnels were all different parts of his home and he'd seen them so often he knew when anything went amiss. He could even tell if a new piece of concrete had fallen.

A week and a day had passed since his new family members had arrived. Leo had expected what he'd thought would be normal. Why, he couldn't imagine now because when did anything normal ever happen to his family? Crying, constant feedings, and endless diaper changes, some more crying, then sleep, normal things… Instead it all blurred together into a giant static pile of screaming. For no reason at all. He was more mentally tired than he'd ever been. The lack of good sleep didn't bother him because he didn't get much of that anyway. Yet Raph was right, for once, the eldest was definitely the ringleader.

Leo rounded yet another corner and came to the entrance to the lair. There had once been a time where even he had been able to get lost in these tunnels. Now, his body would steer him back here if he didn't actively have somewhere to go while running. It was like having an autopilot set in his mind. He could continuously loop around this particular turn for ages if he still had things to think about, but he was drained. He slowed and cautiously approached the door. No sound leaked out, but he still hesitated. Inside could be a rave, and even he wouldn't be any wiser. Still, the silence gave him hope.

He opened the door. Silence greeted him. Full ninja mode activated, he snuck from the door to his room. Sara gave him a passing glance when she heard the door open, but continued to feed Donald and Jillian. Jordan was nowhere to be seen. As if there were Foot soldiers behind him, he retreated to his room. He wouldn't miss the chance to get a nap in, not now.

*)O(*

"Aunt Tasha!" A familiar voice called out to her as she opened the door to her apartment. The air inside was cool; a nice reprieve from the warmth she'd picked up on her walk. "So-So!" Tabitha called out once the little girl rounded the corner from her livening room. Bolting down the short hall, Sophia's beaded braids smacking against each other, the young girl threw her arms open. Tabitha stooped for a half second before her favorite, and only, niece was in her arms. "Oh, gosh, nope, get down; you're getting way too big for this." Tabitha teased, acting as if she was loosing her grip. After a few playful giggles, Tabitha let her concern overlay her joy. "Where is your mommy?"

"She's sick again." Tabitha felt a piece of her heart break to here those words come out of Sophia's mouth. Even Sophia knew that her mom wasn't really sick, yet she still was. Addiction, to anything she could get her hands on, had ruined her sister's life, but Tabitha would be damned if she would let her sister ruin Sophia's in the process. "She said to come here until she got better. I even remembered my toothbrush by myself this time!"

"You did? Then why does your breath smell like gym socks?" Tabitha teased. Sophia gasped, in mock horror, before doing her best Shrek impression, trying to smother Tabitha in the smell of garlic and salt. "It's late, go make sure your teeth are clean and I'll go check on your mom. After we get that done, do you want to watch a movie with me?" Sophia, like the perfect little devil she was, raised two fingers. "Two? Again?"

"Every time!" Sophia squealed as she wiggled her way out of Tabitha's arms and ran for the bathroom.

Tabitha backed out of her apartment and sighed heavy. She couldn't be angry. She couldn't show concern. She had to be cold. When it came to her sister, only the blunt truth worked. You couldn't sugar coat even a hello with out her getting the wrong idea. At the same time, if you showed that you were upset, she would get defensive and try to turn the table around on her current accuser. The other line went to voicemail four times before Tabitha got through. "Amy." Tabitha tried when it sounded like the line had been picked up. Then there it was, that chuckle that made Tabitha want to reach through the phone and strangle her sister. "Yeah, what's up, biggie?"

"I have Sophia."

"What?" Not even able to understand what had just been said, Amy chuckled again.

"The tiny human that you birthed from your vagina about seven years ago, Sophia, your daughter. I have her." Tabitha inwardly cringed for not being able to hold all of her sarcasm back.

"Oh, is she spending the night?"

"No, she's running away from a druggie mother who she saw 'taking her medicine' via a needle in the arm again."

"What? No," Amy chuckled. "I-I'm completely sober right now."

"Good, then when Children Services comes to your house in twenty minutes, you'll be able to pass the drug test." Her teeth hurt, her screams were stuck in her throat and she kept telling herself not to throw her phone because it was new. Angry, incoherent cries came through the other side of the line. Demeaning her for saying anything, and that she was putting 'stories' in her daughter's head. Babbling about things that didn't even pertain to the fact that Tabitha still had Sophia in her house because he mom was out getting high.

"I've recorded this whole conversation, just an FYI. And, you know, you wouldn't be so worried if you weren't stoned out of your mind right now. Just do Sophia a favor and hand her over to me until you can get some help with your issues."

"My issues? Mine? They're all from you! I always had to live up to-"

"No, you didn't. No one ever told you, you had to. So stop making excuses like your seven year old, and grow up. Learn how to be a human, then we can talk about you being a mom to Sophia again."

Angry, she hung up. Taking a few moments to collect herself, she then called Roy, their case manager. She explained the situation to Roy, who was actually a woman, go figure. The sound of Roy's soft concern helped to only irritate Tabitha even more. She knew it was Roy's job to be impartial to the parents and guardians while looking out for children's welfare, but the calm she exerted was disheartening. What Amy was doing was almost child abuse by Tabitha's view. No child needed to see their parent jab a needle into their arm then become belligerent. Roy would go over in the morning, they would go to court, again, and then the process would start all over.

Tabitha had never wanted to take complete custody of Sophia. She was her niece, not her daughter. Yet, Tabitha knew, that if Amy didn't get professional help and full rehab assistance, they would continue down this path until Sophia was eighteen. So this time, she requested something of Roy that she hadn't before. "I want to fight for full custody, not just guardianship." Roy paused in her re-telling of the process and sighed. "I've been appointed as her legal guardian four times already. I can't keep letting her go back there when Amy isn't in her right mind. It'll hurt her more to live like she has been than if she only sees her mom during visitation. Roy, you know I want Amy to get better, but she's not. If I can't save her, then I have to save Sophia."

"Come down to my office tomorrow. We'll get everything started. You'll need all the documents that you needed last time. You'll also need to work out someone to watch her while you're at work."

"I quit my job a few nights ago because of harassment, but I have an interview tomorrow after noon."

"Tabitha-Lynn, you'll need a job if you want custody."

"I know, but it won't be any problem to get this one. By the time anyone gets anything actually going, I'll have one again."

"You better, or this whole thing will get a lot messier. My office, ten tomorrow. Good night." Tabitha nodded then hung up.

She thought about the tiny girl in her living room. Sophia had already seen her mom over dose, had her arm broken while 'rough housing' with one of Amy's boyfriends, and was already a potential runaway in the system because of fleeing to the safety of Tabitha's house. It wasn't an easy world to live in to begin with, but with everything else, Sophia had a bumpy start. She was a black female with a junky mom. She's won out on having a wonderful aunt, Tabitha added with a bit of humor. Thinking of it, she needed to get back in to her and the movie she'd promised. It'd probably be Zootopia for the 50th time, but it was cute and addressed some major issues in a way that a seven year old could understand.

Understanding of her situation started to sink in. Sophia would be her full responsibility for now on. Amy was on her last leg with the system anyway, there was no doubt in Tabitha's mind that she would get custody. It meant that she would have a full schedule of going to Sophia's school functions, doctor appointments, after school programs, and shopping for another little human who was already opinionated and didn't like to eat green beans, not to mention court dates and attorneys. She was starting to get angry again when she heard her door open. "Come on, Aunt Tasha, the menu music has already played like a million times."

"Okay, okay," Tabitha smiled in defeat as the girl pulled her inside.

There had been a time when Sophia had been learning to talk that she hadn't been able to say 'Tabitha'. When she tried, it came out as 'Ta-be-sha' and so, to make it easier on her, Tabitha let her call her 'Tasha' instead. Sophia could speak clearly now, but the nickname held.

Sophia had tricked her one time with it. It had been just them in her house, like it was now as she was hauled into her front room, and Sophia had gotten angry at something Tabitha did. 'Tabitha-Lynn Michele!' Sophia had growled. For a moment, she'd frozen thinking her mom had caught her doing something wrong, as if she was the six year old who had refused to comb their hair. Sophia had found it utterly hilarious and after she calmed down, so did Tabitha.

She would be the first to admit that her temper was red-hot and ready to flare at anytime. She did her best to keep it under control when she wasn't at work, but it was her job that had nurtured it. There were many 'Chef Ramsey's' in the culinary world, and she was one of them. She'd fought to get to were she was, it was what she did. Everything was won through hard work and dedication to your goal. She had wanted to be a wealthy chef in a great New York restaurant, she'd gotten that. Now she just had to get it again as well as looking after the tiny human who had stolen every pillow in the house to make a 'movie cave' for herself on the couch.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: For those of you who were wondering when my little side character was going to start being useful, this is the beginning of that. I'm so happy to see all the reviews that have been posted on this already. It's good to see that I must be doing something right for you all to keep coming back, regardless of my inability to update in a timely manner. Happy New Year, by the way.

Tabitha practically pranced out of the office of her new employer. She'd been given the job, which actually paid more than her other one, with next to no problem once she'd waited a few more days for her background check to come back. She would be on a probationary period at first, to make sure she could actually do the job, but she knew she'd do just fine here. She was going to take the secondary chef spot from a woman who was quitting to raise her own family. She'd have to switch from an afternoon type job to one that was morning based, but it would help her schedule with Sophia, at least until summer vacation finally started.

She would have just enough time with her in the morning to get her to school, as long as there weren't any delays, then to get to work. Her old babysitter had agreed to pick her up from school and keep her for a couple hours so Tabitha would have time to do any errands she needed to do. Her boss had agreed to be flexible with her on her schedule so she could go to court when she needed. There was a buss stop only a block away from both work and her babysitter, which made transport easy as well. It was honestly better than she could have possibly hopped for.

As mandated by the court order, Amy had had to take a drug test, and when she failed, Tabitha was granted temporary custody on the grounds of being the closest living relative. Sophia had went back to her mom's to grab her things, but Tabitha wasn't able to salvage anything else in the house because it wasn't her property. That meant that unless Amy gave her permission, all the other things would be on the sidewalk a month after the first round of rent was due. Tabitha didn't foresee getting any such permission once she'd stated in the court room that she was looking to get full custody of Sophia in front of her sister. Amy had been hurt and angry. Tabitha could understand it. She didn't know what she'd do if the tables had been reversed and it was her child being taken away from her, yet she hoped that she would be able to understand that it was what was best at the time. She'd tried to tell Amy that she could take Sophia back once she was better, but Amy had seemed too distraught to understand anything.

It hurt deep down, under the layer of anger she kept so close to her surface, to have to do this to Amy. She didn't want to be the villain in her sister's life. She didn't want to have to raise Sophia because Amy couldn't handle the real world. She wanted to be able to be proud of her, to be a little jealous that she'd given birth to such a wonderful little girl, and to smile when she thought of her.

Shaking off the temporary shroud over her momentary good mood, Tabitha headed to Bea's, her babysitter. Sophia loved Bea. The bright young woman was one of a kind. She worked at a pharmacy just a few blocks from her house and always carried some kind of firearm with her. Always in a legal open carry with the gun two steps from being fired at all times because of Sophia and one of the other girls she watched. It had been unsettling to find out her workplace had been the location for a gang shoot out. She'd made it through by locking herself in the security room, Tabitha had heard. Still, there was no one she would trust more than Bea, besides herself, with Sophia.

As she walked in the door, she could hear her worst enemy playing joyfully: 'Doc McStuffins'. The damn songs were so catchy she would find herself humming them on the bus and at work if she was forced to watch a marathon of it like she'd been made to do when Sophia had been younger. Luckily Bea spotted her and paused the video. 'Thank you!' Tabitha mouthed silently. Bea smiled and pointed to her kitchen nook. Tabitha couldn't actually call it a kitchen because it was only about four feet long with a fridge, stove, and one counter. It was always cluttered with used plastic butter knives that held peanut butter or jelly and at least one mandatory cup ramen container, remnants of the after school snacks she gave to the kids she watched. She would give Bea one thing, she made some of the best bread in that tiny kitchen nook.

Off to the side at a small table was Sophia, rapidly scribbling out her homework. For a moment Tabitha awed at the little girl. She'd always told her that learning was the most important thing she could do, but as seven year old, Sophia wasn't a fan of it. Once she got home she would finish her homework as quickly as possible so she could play. Tabitha had decided that as long as Sophia kept that part up, she wouldn't force any extra work on her. "So-So, are you almost done?" Sophia lit up as she lifted her little head up out of the page. "Aunt Tasha! Yes, almost. Just one, two, three, four… four more to go."

"Okay, I'll wait."

"She's been a big help today," Bea announced before turning the channel and letting something else play for the girl on the couch. "She helped me make everyone's snacks."

"Well, that's just awesome," Tabitha beamed toward Sophia who had already started to ignore them again. "Wi-fi password is still the same, I'm going to get started on some laundry while I have another adult here." Bea laughed.

"Forget laundry, remind me of the last time you actually slept, at all? Watching kids in the middle of the day, working at night, and aren't you taking some online classes?"

"Not anymore, and they were just remedial so I won't have to take them when I actually get started on college."

"You're going to work yourself to death, girl."

"Nah, I'm sure I'll have a few seconds before I meet him to lie down a bit." Bea laughed. Tabitha nodded then opened her phone, checking her mail and still keeping an eye on the kid on the couch, just in case. To remind her to be happy, there was a message from her new boss welcoming her and letting her know that everyone looked forward to working with her. Sophia finished before Bea got back, so Tabitha let her sit with the other girl. A few minutes turned into a half hour before Bea showed back up. She came in like someone had just peed in her cheerios. "Sorry, the maintenance guy was working on the pipes."

"It's okay, come on Sophia." She was determined that nothing was going to spoil her mood, and to be honest, she'd been on facebook the whole time and had barely registered the odd length of absence. In her haste to leave, she didn't even register Bea's discomfort about the maintenance man.

*)O(*

Leo waited as patiently as he could. He was on a time limit and if Bea didn't hurry up, he would lave her. She'd taken back up babysitting and the other child's mom was taking too long. She was suppose to be coming over to meet the babies and he was tired of hiding in the laundry room closet.

After what felt like an eternity, Bea showed back up. "Becca was the one who was supposed to pick me up," she huffed again. The fact that it was him had already lead to an argument earlier. He wasn't in the mood. "Yeah, well, her and Mikey got a little busy." He explained as well as he could with out being vulgar. "Ew." Bea muttered. It had been clear that Bea didn't approve of the interspecies relationships of his family, but luckily she had one redeeming factor to her personality. She wouldn't stand to see any of them in cages.

He didn't trust her, not by a long shot, yet she already knew of them and the babies and had yet gone to anyone for any reason. The fact that she'd done so much to hide what had really happened at the pharmacy was enough for the rest of his family to trust her. In turn he tried to be less paranoid. He just couldn't shake the feeling that if anyone went after her, no matter how much she claimed to be again cruelty, she would save herself before his family. Her babysitting was a actually a large threat to his family. She might not want to hurt his family, but if other people could get close to her via her side job then it was probably a good thing for him to do his own little check on them.

They were late when they finally arrived at the garage, the only entrance Bea knew about. He was supposed to be on the roof, waiting on Raph by now. He nodded to Bea then ducked into the small alley next to the garage and removed his sweltering disguise. As it got hotter out, it was starting to become uncomfortable to escort the semi-hostile woman whenever she was called over for a visit. He wasn't too happy that she'd ever been invited in the first place.

On the roof, Raph was waiting patiently. It was odd, but out of all of them, Raph had the best handle on their current situation. His skill with quieting Jordan was a handy weapon in a limited arsenal. Leo didn't think for a minute that Raph wasn't slightly irked at being made to wait, but Raph also knew what it was like to walk Bea to the lair. It wasn't easy to handle that woman. With a slight nod, they started off, V-ing out to cover more ground with their limited numbers.

None of them had went out on a full patrol since the babies had been born. Instead they went out in pairs, excluding Donnie. They couldn't just leave New York to protect itself, yet they couldn't leave the babies completely unguarded in case anything happened at the lair. Not only that, Leo didn't think he would have been able to pull Donnie away from his kids with a crowbar and Raph helping. It was still odd to think of, in a way. His brother, younger brother, was a father. Part of him was jealous. The more prevalent majority was just super excited. He'd already decided that he wouldn't be jealous of the lives of his brothers and their mates. It was their fate to live these lives. It was his to be the leader and watch them live in happiness.

He reached into his belt and pulled out Bea's phone, which he'd snatched from her on the way over. He was going to case out the houses of the people Bea worked for. If when he dug a little everything looked fine, he would back off. Later he would get Donnie to help him as well. For now, he would turn on his senses and slip through the night like the old friend it was. Raph already knew to stay close, and since Hun had died the streets had started to quiet down. In all honesty, they probably _could_ have left New York to do it's own thing. The Foot clan destroyed, Hun gone left the PD in disorganized chaos, and a new flood of people interested in police duty meant that New York was almost as safe as any major metropolitan city could be. Still, he felt he still had to do this, just to make sure.

Thankfully, the one thing Bea didn't know how to do was shut up. She talked constantly when she was uncomfortable. She told him about everyone she babysat, so knowing just who to check out had been easy. It had lead him here, to this small apartment. The other two had turned up as a loving family and a single mom. This was one of the people that had been at Bea's place earlier.

"The hell are we doing at this place now?" Raph grumbled next to him.

"This is one of the people who have Bea as a babysitter. I just want to make sure that she's not associated with anyone before we get around to your favorite part of patrol."

"Cracking heads." Raph nearly purred as he cracked his knuckles. Truly, they were getting along so well now, Leo thought the only time they'd went this long without an argument had been back in their childhood. There was a large window which would let him get a full view of the apartment once a light was turned on. It was getting late, he thought that maybe they'd already went to bed as he hung onto a fire escape in the shadow of the building behind him.

Raph was a larger double of him, silent and still. He had to silently admire Raph for a moment. Raph had no patience so the uncharacteristic willingness to remain there made him appreciate him for a moment. Maybe it was all the constant noise at home that let his brother take this reprieve into silence, but Leo couldn't be sure. There were many sides to his slightly younger brother that were hidden under layers of repressed anger and burden.

Light bloomed in the dark apartment. "Hot damn," Raph exclaimed quietly. Silently, Leo agreed. A young woman, maybe twenty-five, appeared in the living room. 'Sophia's Aunt Tasha', as the phone had called her, was a dark-skinned beauty. She had a large mass of midnight curls held back in a ponytail. Leo wasn't good with describing weight of women, but he knew that she was a pleasing middle between Becca's slight chunk and Sara's pre-pregnancy muscled twigginess. Toned, he thought was the word he was looking for.

A small girl came in next, loaded with shopping bags. There was some dialogue between the two, but Leo wasn't close enough to read their lips. He smiled slightly as the little girl dramatically wiped her brow after setting down the bags. The woman also had a small smile that turned into a grin from what ever it was that the little girl said. It had to be Tasha and Sophia from Bea's phone. Something puzzled him, why was the aunt taking care of the girl and not the girl's mother?

He shook himself and tried to ignore the two as they started to pull out clothes obviously meant for the girl. He looked around the apartment, taking in small little details. There were some magazines and books. There was a large kitchen, one that Mikey would be envious of, off to one side that had fruits and vegetables in a bowl on a counter. Nothing seemed to be out of place, or suspicious. The girl seemed to be genuinely happy with her aunt.

Leo guiltily let his eyes rake over the woman one more time before leaving. As far as he could tell, his family was safe, and he let himself feel pride for a moment over that fact. The woman flashed in front of his eyes before he put her away in his mind. It wasn't his fate.


	4. Chapter 4

*)O(*

Her babies were growing at an alarming rate. She didn't have anything to compare it to, human or turtle wise, but she knew from sheer weight alone. Jordan had been roughly five pounds when he'd been born. Donald and Jillian had weighed closer to four and a half. Now the smaller two weighted almost ten pounds while their older brother was at twelve. They were already a month old. She tried to remind herself that they'd only had five and a half months of time to put on weight to start, but this was getting ridiculous. She'd already compromised quiet a few times when it had come to feedings, giving a bottle when she'd just been too sore to feed them. At this rate she wouldn't be able to keep up with clothes shopping for them, let alone feeding them.

"How are you doing today, Mommy?" Donnie teased as he snuck behind her to give her a small hug. If it wasn't for him being the gentle patient person he was, she didn't think she would be able to take care of the kids by herself. The difficult parts of being a parent hadn't even started. What was she going to do once they started crawling? Goddess help everyone once they picked up walking. "Sara?" Donnie asked again as she drifted off into her worry again. "I'm thinking about having fat kids who learn how to crawl too soon."

Donnie joked, "It is because Jillian is starting to pick her head up? Or because they've almost doubled their weight?"

"Both. What happened to them being small and helpless?" Sara mourned. Donnie chuckled but held her from behind the couch. "They're still small and helpless. They still need Mommy and I think Mommy needs Daddy to remind her that it's because of her that they are doing so well." Sara sighed deeply. It just wasn't fair. She didn't mind not having slept more than a few hours at a time, or the god awful way her nipples ached because they were chapped. What she minded was that her babies wouldn't be her babies forever.

"I am actually excited to see them crawling around and getting into things. And you know, we're probably the only stay at home parent couple in New York who are going to have a small squadron of help to stop them from hurting themselves once they do. I mean, can you even imagine Mikey letting any of them near his DVD tower?" Donnie almost gushed.

Sara bit her lip, trying not to smile or encourage him. "Oh… hush you…" She finally conceited. Donnie grinned into a kiss on her cheek. "I love you, Sara."

"I love you too, Donnie."

*)O(*

Tonight was it. If she could pull it off, she'd be off probation and would be able to receive the respect she craved from her boss. There was a private, yet large, party being held tonight at their restaurant. Supposedly it was a bunch of rich people who needed to kiss each other's asses.

She tried not to laugh out loud randomly in front of Sophia. She thought of that as one of the defining lines of her character. Having enough money and skills to be able to take care of the ones you love made you wealthy, while if you had so much money you could literally wipe your ass with it, you were a rich ass hole. Still, she didn't try to look down on those people too much. Some, just some, of them were actually good decent human beings who had either gotten lucky enough or worked hard enough to get to where they were. Others had been born into it and had never known a different life, so they couldn't be blamed either. It was the ones who lied, cheated, even stole from little old ladies, who bothered her.

Sophia swirled about in her new dress. Bea was going to take her out to a movie and then some Chinese food. Thankfully Bea had been off work tonight and willing to go to an all expenses paid night out with a seven year old in tow. Bea's friend would go with them, supposedly it was the girl who worked with her at the pharmacy during the shoot out.

"You look very pretty. I like the color blue on you."

"Me too, pink is for sissies."

"What did I tell you about name-calling?" Tabitha lightly scolded.

"It's not nice and I shouldn't do it, unless I want people to do it to me." Sophia said just slightly apologetic.

"And if you want to name call someone, what are you allowed to call them?"

"Nice thing." Sophia perked back up.

"Like?"

"You, you're a nice thing… er… person." Sophia said as she slipped on her black ballet flats. Tabitha stood shocked in the middle of her living room. It wasn't the momentary slip of the seven year old mixing up words and thoughts, but instead it was that out of all the things she'd ever been called, and there was a long list, nice was not one of them. Things like: crabby, mean-spirited, cold, hot-blooded, cynical, critical, temperamental, and any racial slur that could be hurled her way, she'd heard. Not that she was nice, and not from a seven year old. "Does that count?" Sophia asked. Tabitha had to blink a few times and replay what Sophia had asked before just nodding her head a few times. Semi-numb she waved Sophia out the door as she wondered how she ever came across as 'nice.'

*)O(*

"So we should be done around ten or eleven, at most, midnight. I'll text you, okay?"

"Aw, but who am I going to bug if you're not here," Mikey grinned at Becca as she slipped into some ballet flats, almost ready to leave.

"The babies, of course, and probably everyone else too." She teased him back. "Just try not to be too busy when I get back," she added with a wink that make his shell feel tight. He hadn't known at the time, but he'd somehow unleashed a secret nymph side to Becca after their first encounter. He couldn't be happier though.

He'd quit his job a week ago to help out with the kids, but he'd spent more time making his own than helping Sara and Donnie. He corrected himself and frowned just a little. Technically he wasn't even close to starting to make any babies of his own as they'd started using protection. It wasn't as good as the few times she let him not use one, but it wasn't too bad. Anyway, if it meant that he could keep up the frequency of their little trysts he'd be happy to keep wearing them.

He walked her to the door of the garage, snatching a few kisses before she left. He leaned in for just one more because good god did she taste good, when she stopped him with a finger over his lips. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her eyes were large. "When I get back. If we don't stop I won't even leave tonight." She let out a flustered sigh and yanked the door open, slipping away before he could protest. He turned around, grinning as he went to get Raph. They were going to go out tonight and stop some bad guys once it got dark.

*)O(*

She got to Bea's house about an hour early. It was only six, but she wanted to be of help with Sophia. Plus, she liked hanging out with Bea. It was nice to have someone who was a bit removed from the whole 'living in the sewers' thing and be able to talk about normal things. Bea was her own personal confidant now, and a reprieve from three little babies.

She sighed as she knocked on the door. She wanted babies, too. She just didn't think she was ready for them. Hell, probably no one else in the lair was ready for more kids yet. Then there was the fact that she would probably also have multiple kids at a time. She didn't know if she would be able to handle three of them, or more even. It was true that box turtles often had small clutches, but that didn't mean that it was always that way.

Plus, Sara had been so stressed all the time when she was pregnant. The risks were high. It was possible that she could have lost one or all of her kids at anytime. Even her own life was at risk, carrying little half mutants in her body, the possibility of rejection was high. Not to mention delivery had gruesome and scary.

Then there was always another road. What if she didn't mutate like Sara did? What if she could never have a baby with Mikey like Sara could with Donnie? It wasn't a proven fact that it would happen to her as well. They weren't sure Sara would be able to do it twice either. But with three kids, Becca wondered if Sara would ever want more.

No matter what, she would always be with Mikey, kids or not, but she wondered how he would take it if they started to try and she just never got pregnant. Could she deal with the heartbreak she would cause him? Also, what if because of the differences she miscarried, more than once. She lost her breath thinking about trying over and over again just to lose baby after baby like some women did. She didn't think she was strong enough to make it through that and come out the same person.

"Earth to Becca." Bea's voice called to her. Startled, she jumped a bit as a few tears leaked from her eyes. "Oh god, no. Stop that right now. What ever it is, it will wait until after the movie at least, got it? We can talk, but no crying tonight." Becca blinked a few times then wiped her eyes. She nodded and stepped into Bea's small apartment. Sophia, who Becca had met a few days ago, was sitting at the small kitchen table folding paper. "Hi, Sophia, what cha' doing?"

"Origami. Bea says I'm not allowed to cut that paper. It's not working." The little girl frowned as she looked at an instruction on a page of a book she had next to her then tried to fold the paper. "Well, you lucky little devil, guess who knows how to make the best little swans?"

"Bea?" The little girl grinned. Acting offended, placing her hand on her chest and scoffing dramatically, Becca gaped at the tiny girl. "You're not even going to consider yours truly?" Sophia gave a small laugh with an eye roll. "Let the master show you how it's done!" Becca challenged as she went to help her. Bea shook her head at them and asked if they needed anything. "I dare say we shall require a pillow fort after this is done," Becca grinned. Bea narrowed her eyes at her. "Pillow fort, pillow fort!" Sophia demanded.

Out matched, Bea leveled her eyes on Sophia. "Only if you can make me a swan for my window."

"Deal," Sophia fired back. "Hurry, show me how to make one before she forgets." The little girl said seriously. Sophia was amusing. When she really wanted something she would focus on it, but if she didn't care about something, you couldn't get her attention to linger on anything. It reminded her of Mikey in a way. Science and meditation, yeah, good luck. Games, music, or books? He could narrow his focus on them for hours and never stray.

It only took a couple tries before Sophia was cranking out swans and had made five for Bea's windowsill. A lopsided pillow fort was next. Bea had already grabbed a bunch of things, so it was short work before they were huddled under the unstable construction.

Becca was having a blast, but nature called as she dismissed herself to the bathroom. While there, she texted Mikey to let him know she got to Bea's safely. She set her phone down to wash her hands. From the bathroom she heard a "Hiya!" That had obviously come from Sophia. She walked back into the living room cautiously. The pillow fort had collapsed and Bea was struggling to untangle herself while Sophia pelted her with a pillow.

"Sophia," she said loudly, startling the girl. "That's not how you treat your babysitter," she winked as she scolded her. "You have to use at least two pillows when you attack her."

"Becca?" Bea warned from under the mass of blankets and pillows. Becca grabbed two of the couch cushions and proceeded to smack her friend with them. Sophia giggled, laughing almost too hard to hold onto the pillow she had in her hands. "I swear to god, I'm going to kick your a- butt!" Bea corrected.

"Quick, save yourself!" Becca told Sophia. Running away from the scene of the crime, Sophia knocked over a lamp on Bea's table.

They all went still as the room grew a bit dimmer at the sound of a bulb breaking. Then Sophia started to cry. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She mourned and went to pick up the glass. "No!" Becca called out, grabbing the large shard the little girl had been aiming for. Pain registered a split second later and she knew she'd cut herself, but she was only worried about Sophia. The girl was leaking giant crocodile tears looking like she'd just seen the boogeyman. Bea was scooping Sophia up an instant later and going to sit her on the kitchen table. Rebecca relaxed her hand and looked down at it. She had three little slices on her palm from the jagged glass, but they weren't anything serious and they didn't look to have any other shards in them.

She did frown heavily as she noticed the scar from the time she ran into the weapon rack though. At least now it would have some friends, she sighed as she started to carefully pick up the other large pieces of the bulb. A tiny bit of blood fell onto the floor, but it landed in some shards and she let it go until she got a broom. Bea had started to check on Sophia, asking her if she was okay, if she'd stepped on anything, if she was hurt at all. Poor little Sophia was just a nervous wreck. She kept saying it was an accident and that she didn't mean to do it, and that she was sorry.

Becca remembered a time when she'd done almost the same thing. It hadn't been a babysitter, or even a parent to calm her, but a housekeeper at the time. She got up from where she'd knelt to clean and threw away the large pieces. She went over to Sophia. "Hey, Sophia?" She said as softly as she could. The little girl looked to her as if she was some horrible person ready to hurt her for the small transgression. "We can get another light bulb, we can get a million more, but we only have just one of you. We want to make sure you are okay. Are you okay?"

Two little huffs escaped her before Sophia whined, "Yeeeeesss," and proceeded to breakdown like one of Donnie's inventions on a trial run. Bea bit her lip as Sophia attached herself to her and finished crying, making sure to confirm that they weren't mad at her.

Becca sighed, amazed at how similar it was to the time she'd broken a lamp. She fetched the broom and cleaned up the glass. She's almost forgotten her cuts until she noticed the ache when she swept. "I'm going to clean myself up, but it's getting close to show time, we should get ready." Bea nodded. Neither of them wanted to miss the show, even if it was a kids' movie. "And look, we don't even have to clean up before we leave, we'll do that later, after the after-movie-ice-cream, okay?"

"Ice cream?" Was of course the only word a seven year old would pick out.

"After-movie-ice-cream, if you're good at the restaurant." Just like that, all tears ended and promises of the best behavior flowed from the cunning mouth of the child.

One gauze pad and a bit of medical tape later, they were out the door. The incident behind them and the promise of extra buttery popcorn ahead. Becca smiled, hoping that they'd already put enough drama into the pot for tonight. It wasn't until they were in the movie theatre, when they asked that phones be silenced, that she realized she'd forgotten her phone in the bathroom.

Dun, dun, duh! Howdy, ya'll! Been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that. No excuses, but I do have one thing to say. My god, just how can people favorite this story so much and not leave a review? Hint, hint… any way… I hope that you all liked it and I hope to see you back for the next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hello, all you beautiful people! GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING FOR ANIMAL LOVERS! That's all, now get reading. XD

*)O(*

Leo had to admit, he was proud of Mikey. It wasn't the kind of pride he wished he felt in his brother, like the few times the youngest had focused on training or actually remained silent while out on patrol, but it was still pride. Becca had said she'd be back no later than midnight. It was one in the morning and Mikey waved around the phone with twenty failed calls. Mikey, besides Raph, was the quickest to jump to conclusions when it came to these things. Yet, his youngest brother was almost calmly explaining everything to them and trying to reassure everyone else there that it was probably just a lost phone and poor traffic kind of thing. It didn't slip past Leo that Mikey was trying to confirm these things to himself as well, but he would take any measure of false calm over any irrational panic any day.

Leo agreed that they should go out looking for her, too. Just because their list of old enemies was growing smaller, it didn't mean that they didn't still have them, or that new ones couldn't form. With the Food and Purple Dragons out of the way, any thing was possible for the future of their family. On top of that, Becca always had her phone on her and would always message them if she was going to be late. It didn't sit well with him and he knew that if he was uneasy, Mikey had to be a million times worse.

"Mik, the babies are asleep, do you think you could watch them while I go with them?" Sara asked. Leo's wasn't the only head in the room that snapped to Sara. Mik looked around, uncomfortable. "Sara, I don't think-"

"That's basically my sister out there." Sara protested.

"No, you'll stay here with your babies, we'll find Becca, Sara." Leo ordered in his calmest voice possible. Sara sucked in a breath and Leo registered the fiery glare she gave him. "If someone has Becca, and she's just not running late, we can't chance them getting you too, the babies need their mother still."

"They are always going to need me! I'm not just going to sit down here-"

"I said that you are." Leo glared back at her. Regardless of how unfair it was to her, or how much he would appreciate her going with them, he couldn't let her go out on a search and rescue just yet. "Donnie can come with us, if it'll make you feel better to have four instead of three, but we already discussed this. Until the babies are on solid food you are barred from going on anything too dangerous."

"Walking down the street in this town is dangerous, Leo-"

"Sara, please. We need to find Becca, stop arguing with Leo, please." Mikey nearly scolded. Another twist in the night for them. "I'm going to check the movie theatre and the restaurant they were going to. Leo, can you check Bea's house?"

"No problem, Donnie, you're with Mikey. Make sure he doesn't get carried away. Raph, you're with me. Once we've scouted the area we'll go over to the girl's place to see if she's back home then start working on solutions. Keep your shell cells on. Sara, if Becca or Bea show up here call us, Mikey first."

"Fine," Sara huffed.

Leo nodded to her, thanking her. Being the quicker of the two, Mikey and Donnie were already near the lair door when Raph stopped him with a hand on the shoulder. "Do you think she's okay, Leo?"

"I don't know, but I have to hope." Raph cracked his knuckles and neck, rolling his shoulders.

"Damn straight, I'll bust anyone's skull if she's not." Leo suppressed a smirk to his closest brother before leading them both out of the lair.

*)O(*

Tabitha laughed hard as Becca told another joke. They'd come to surprise her with ice-cream after the event had ended and they'd ended up staying to help with clean up. Sophia was running around them as they headed back to Bea's. She'd fallen asleep during the ending of the movie and had stayed that way the whole bus ride to the restaurant. She'd woken up only around midnight when Tabitha had picked her up to go home. Now she was full of energy like it was the middle of the day and wouldn't settle down so they had opted to walk instead of another bus.

She was in the mood to celebrate, but had to be in to work in the morning for another shift. She'd gone through the night without a mishap and she was thrilled. Her boss had congratulated her and told her that she was now officially part of the team. Having these two around was just as good.

Bea was a straight shooter who didn't deal with bull while Becca was a free spirit who loved to make people smile. The fact that they were friends was puzzling, but she knew that opposites attract. She actually wondered if they were a couple. Anytime the topic of boyfriends came up, the two would grow quiet and change the topics. Tabitha thought that it was cute, the two of them staying quiet about it with her around. Not that she minded in the least. Love was love, no matter who shared it with who. She just didn't want to be rude about it if they didn't want to 'come out' about it just yet.

Sophia was starting to run out of energy as they got to Bea's apartment. They'd told Tabitha about the lamp, and she wanted to make sure she helped to clean up in repayment. She was tired, and it was going to be a long day tomorrow, but she didn't want to leave Bea with a mess to clean up. Bea was probably the best babysitter ever, and Tabitha would do anything to make sure their record with her was as clean as possible.

*)O(*

A pile of blankets on the floor looked like some had struggled to get out from under them while two chairs were positioned to face each other, like two people had sat face to face. Different origami projects were half finished and scattered around the table, as if someone had left them in a hurry. A lamp, with a broken bulb, was positioned on an end table. On the broom that was leaned against the couch, was dried blood. There was a smear of it on the ground near the lamp. A child's jacket was on the ground next to the door. It looked like someone had ransacked the place. It wasn't a good sign. He signaled Raph from the window to keep lookout.

Leo pulled out his phone and called Becca. He heard a faint ringing coming from a hallway. He followed it to the bathroom. There was her phone, on the back of the toilet. He sighed. Donnie's tracker had said it was here, but that didn't mean he expected it to be left whole. If it was undamaged it probably meant that if she had been taken then it wasn't by any of their enemies. Hopeful, he prayed that she'd just left it here and just busy while out with Bea, not that Bea was answering her phone either. He ended the call and sighed. Then he heard voices from the living room and the front door close.

He held his breath, leaning close to the door to hear the speakers. There were more than two of them, but he picked up on the two he recognized. Becca and Bea, explaining that they hadn't had time to clean up the pillow fort before they left. Leo had a brief moment of feeling like he was just a glob of paranoia before he remembered that they weren't alone. There was a small child's voice saying something about the broken lamp and another female. "Hey, I left my phone in the bathroom, could you get it for me, Sophia?" Becca's voice came through as Bea talked to someone.

Sophia was one of the children Bea watched, Leo recalled. She was on her way to where he was, the bathroom door was in open view of the living room, he couldn't just make a break for it to Bea's bedroom. He was stuck here. If it had been an adult he would have just knocked them out and called for Becca and Bea, but he couldn't hurt a child. He would have to hide. He looked around. There was a clear, translucent shower curtain, and he didn't think he'd fit into the confined space anyway. There weren't any places big enough for his girth and then the phone in his hand rang again. "-got it, Sophia." The unfamiliar voice said.

Panicked, Leo threw the phone into the sink and did his best to squeeze behind the small door. Tasha, he recognized as he caught her reflection in the mirror. Her mass of curls were pulled up into a bun on the top of her head and her dark brown skin stood out against a white jacket. Her eyes were dark and focused as she checked her reflection. She froze for a moment and Leo slid back behind the door as quickly as he could.

He was a figment of her imagination, he told himself. If she saw him for a moment, she would just assume she saw a tracer, one of those dark shadows out of the corner of your eye. No need to check. Still, he wanted to look at her a bit more. It was like his first time above ground again: ignoring his ingrained training and taking risks just to get an up close look at humans.

Tasha left the room and closed the door. Leo let out a breath, but then lost his ability. He tried to sallow the bile rising in his throat. What had he done? Becca's phone was still in the sink.

*)O(*

She tried not to panic. She'd seen it. It had been there, she'd been sure. Still, it was late and she was stressed. What she saw just couldn't be. She kept her eyes on the door as she backed up the hallway. "Tabitha?" Becca's new voice startled her. "Tabitha, hey, what's wrong?"

"I-I'm going-" she tried to pull in a breath. "I'm going to sound crazy for a minute, and I need you to believe me." Tabitha grabbed her arm, trying to stable herself. The blond woman looked concerned and glanced down to the bathroom door which had remained closed tight. "There is," she said, strained. As she went to say it, she realized just _how_ crazy it sounded. "There's a- a guy dressed as some kind of turtle… in Bea's bathroom- I know it sounds crazy, but we need to call the cops."

"Oh, god," Becca said as her face went white. Relief swept over her as it seemed that Becca believed her. "Mikey?" Becca called down the hall. Puzzled, Tabitha stood in shock.

"The hell is he doing here," Bea hissed near them, startling Tabitha again.

"What's wrong?" Sophia asked, picking up on their mutual tension.

"Um, my boyfriend is playing a bad joke on us, and he scarred your aunt. It's okay, Tabitha, I promise, it's just Mikey."

"Boyfriend?" Tabitha stuttered, feeling like she was in the twilight zone.

"Ye-yeah." Becca fumbled. "He always does stuff like this, I'm sorry he spooked you…" Tabitha looked Becca over as she tried to apologize. "He was probably just looking for me, and decided to pull a prank, I'll go talk to him. Don't worry about cleaning anymore, I'll make him help." The lie was force and evident. "You're boyfriend breaks into other people's houses and dresses like a turtle?" Tabitha tried to rationalize. "No, um, yes, well…"

"I know what I saw, he was just as scarred as I was, that wasn't your boyfriend." Tabitha pressed, knowing what she'd actually seen. There was no way that was just a human in there. It looked like a turtle/human mix, not just someone in a turtle costume. It might be late, and she might be tire, but there wasn't any way she'd not seen those giant blue eyes under that blue mask. They weren't human, they were too big, and the shape of the face was wrong.

"He's just-"

"The hell is he doing in my apartment, Becca," Bea hissed again. Becca was caught between the two of them.

Tabitha had had enough. Stomping to the door, she flung it open. It banged against something hard, but not a wall. Tabitha opened the door and looked around it. "Ow, Jesus Chri-" the turtle said as he held his stomach area before he stilled. "Aunt Tasha," Sophia called out for her. She didn't register the little foot steps approaching, or the voices of the other girls, as she stood in shocked silence before the giant, humanoid turtle in front of her. There was no way that was a costume. No way.

"Are you Becca's boyfriend," Sophia's voice asked. Tabitha's head nearly broke as she looked to Sophia who stood beside her, her little head cocked to the side like she was trying to solve a puzzle. "Miss, I can explain."

"Oh, god, it's Leo." The room swayed and she felt sick. It's mouth, it was giant, and the teeth inside were menacingly white. It lifted up hands with three large, chunky fingers. She registered hilts poking out of it's back, er, shell. There was a giant talking turtle in front of her.

"It's okay," Becca said next to her. Tabitha swayed as she stood. "This is my brother, Leo, it is okay, I promise. He's not going to hurt anyone."

"You look like a turtle," Sophia announced.

"Why in the hell did you break in here?" Bea's angry voice accused.

"HEY!" Sophia yelled, getting everyone's attention. Tabitha didn't stop starring at this 'Leo' creature, trying to piece together just how in the hell this was Becca's 'brother'. "Are you a turtle?"

"Um, yeah, I am."

"Cool! Are you a super hero? Do you have superpowers?"

"No, uh, actually, I'm a ninja."

"A nin-i-gi-ah? What's that? Is it a kind of superhero?"

The turtle laughed, it laughed… Tabitha didn't know how much more she could take. This wasn't real, no way. "'Ninja'," it corrected. "And, no, not really."

"Well, that stinks." Sophia pouted.

"Yeah, it kind of does. It's nice to meet you, I'm Leo."

Tabitha watched him lower a hand and reach out to Sophia. Before she could stop herself, her hand reached out and swatted his away with a loud slap. She retracted her hand quickly, fearing the consequences. Instead of retaliating he replaced his hands in the 'I surrender' position again. "Sorry, my dad taught me to introduce myself to new people." Was that a joke? She wrung her hands together. She was nowhere near the height of this creature, let alone mass, but he was acting like he was the one in danger. "Becca and Bea both can tell you that I'm no threat to you, or your niece."

"That depends," Bea grumbled.

" Bea… Really, it's okay, Tabitha, I swear, let's all just go sit down and talk about this. I can explain everything to you. If that's okay, Leo, I mean, Tabitha is a good person. I don't think she'll do anything once she knows." Was she really talking like she wasn't there?

"I don't think we really have a choice, but I have to call Mikey, he's with Donnie looking for you."

"And Raph?"

"Probably on the roof."

"I need to sit down." Tabitha breathed.

"Aunt Tasha?"

"Move," she commanded the turtle as she fell to her knees and reached the toilet just in time to puke.

*)O(*

Donnie walked through the lair entrance and Sara immediately put down Jordan who was still throwing a fit after waking up with a wet diaper. Donnie looked nervous but she noticed Mikey wasn't with him. "Becca is okay." Sara took in a deep breath and let out a relieved sigh. The sound of scratching nails came from the kitchen as Splinter and Mik appeared with Donald and Jillian, who were being fed with bottles. Sara felt a little guilt, like she always did when she gave her kids bottles, but she noted the concern on her mate's face. " _We_ might not be, though. Leo got stuck in Bea's bathroom and was found by another human and her niece. It's one of the people Bea's babysitting for, her name is Tabitha-Lynn."

Splinter audibly sighed heavily. "You would think that my sons would be more careful. I expected better out of Leonardo."

"Sensei, from the layout of Bea's apartment and the situation, I can understand why it happened, even Leo couldn't have prevented it anymore than he did. They are currently talking to her." Donnie let out a small chuckle. "The niece, Sophia, is actually quite taken with Leo."

"And this Tabitha-Lynn?"

"I'm not sure yet. I was told to come back and inform you all."

Sara sat down, a feeling of numbness growing in her body. Donnie rushed over to her. She groped him, trying to find a handhold as she felt faint. "Sara, breathe, honey." Right, that was a thing her body needed to do. She took in a few breaths and tried to be rational. There wasn't much hope for them, as she saw it. They'd gotten lucky with Becca and herself, and especially lucky with Bea. The chances that this other woman would keep their secret were extremely low. "Hey, I think it'll be okay, she's got a kid who is trying to climb Leo like he's a jungle-gym. But, I called Casey on the way over, just in case. He and April and willing to say it was him dressed as Cawabunga Carl, if she says anything. Worst case worse, she'll look a little paranoid. Nothing big, now will you calm down?"

"And what if she goes somewhere else, what if she tells someone that believes her?"

"Sara, it's okay, I promise. Sensei, please, back me up here."

"There are always concerns when my sons interact with the above world, my daughter, but I do believe that they are able to take care of this. I will speak with Leonardo as soon as he is home, Donatello. Until then, would you take my grandchild? I believe he was gone to the bathroom and needs to be changed." Donnie grimaced and nodded, moving to take their child.

Paranoia played on her mind. She couldn't just believe everything was going to be okay. Her kids depended on her to keep them safe. How could Donnie just expect her to trust this stranger? Dear goddess, was this how Splinter felt whenever they guys met someone new? Had she caused this turmoil in him when she'd first met them as well? "I'll change them, can you handle feedings?" Donnie asked. He looked tired. She didn't blame him. "I want to run a background check on her before they all get home."

"Go and start, I won't be able to go to sleep until I know who we are dealing with, hand Donald here, Jordan is just being fussy again."

"I'll keep a hold of Jillian for now," Mik insisted. "But once they are all quiet, I'm going to get some sleep."

"Thank you," Sara nodded to her, taking Donald from Donnie. "Make sure you find everything, I want to know what she ate last when you get back."

"It was ice cream." Donnie replied with a grimace.

"What?"

"She kind of puked, and Leo said he wasn't going to eat ice cream for a few years. Supposedly, chocolate and strawberry ice cream puke isn't too pleasant a smell." Sara gapped for a moment then suppressed a gag herself as the scent originating from Donald's diaper hit her nostrils.

"Dear god, dude, all you eat is milk, why does your poop smell so bad?" She gasped. Next to her on the couch Jordan let out a small giggle and started to play with his feet as he farted. "Really?" She groaned.

*)O(*

She liked him. He was green all over, with weird hands and a shell, but when she had asked, he'd said his favorite color was blue. That was her favorite color, too. So, she liked him. He wasn't mean, and he let her crawl onto his shell once he took off his cool swords. She wanted to look at them, but they wouldn't let her. She knew they were sharp, and she promised she wouldn't touch them, but even after she promised, Aunt Tasha still wouldn't let her. That made her sad. She just wanted to see them.

Instead, Mikey told her to sit on the couch and showed her his nunchucks. She thought that was cool. His mask color was orange, but she still liked him too. He was nice and even let her twirl one of them around. Aunt Tasha didn't say anything, but she could tell she didn't like her playing with them. They were heavy, and Mikey told her to be careful. She didn't want to get hit with one, she knew that.

The other one, Rap, was quiet and didn't seem to want to play with her. Rap was the biggest, his arms looked like balloons. He sat down on the chair and she couldn't help herself. She went over and poked one of his big arms. She asked his if his arm had ever popped like one of the balloons it looked so much like before. Everyone had laughed, and she didn't understand why Rap seemed to get a little angry about it. She didn't want him to be angry, so she went over to the table and made him a swan, like Becca had showed her earlier. It wasn't as pretty as the ones Becca made, but it was okay. When she gave it to him, he thanked her, even if he did look embarrassed.

She still didn't understand why they didn't have superpowers. They were like superheroes, so they should have some, but she guessed that the shells were like their super powers. Bad guys would have a hard time hurting them with shells on. "Do you always wear your shell?"

Aunt Tasha had been listening to Leo and Mikey, but turned to her. "Sophia, that's not nice!"

"But I just want to know," she whined, sad she made Aunt Tasha mad.

"It's okay." Mikey smiled at her. "No, we can't take them off, they are part of us."

"Can you fit your body inside of them?"

"Sophia!"

"No, but we used to be able to when we were little, we're too big now. Especially Mr. Rap over there, can you imagine his balloon arms fitting in there?" Sophia stopped and looked at Rap. The image formed in her creative mind and she laughed while shaking her head. "It's Raph. Not Rap."

"Raft?"

"Raph, ' _f_ , _'_ not rap, not raft, Raph." He said with a frown. Sophia frowned right back at him and stomped her foot. "I'll just call you 'Grumpy'." She registered the silence of the room before everyone started to laugh again. Raph looked uncomfortable, turning a weird color at his cheeks. "Dudette, you're the best."

"Shut up, Mikey!" Raph grumbled.

"It's not nice to tell people to shut up." She told him.

"Whatever, kid." Raph said as he crossed his arms. She stuck her tongue out at him then made sure Aunt Tasha hadn't seen her.

Aunt Tasha had her head in her hands and was shaking her head. Meeting superheroes seemed to bother her. It was clear these were the good guys, even if they did look weird. They were nice, well, Mikey and Leo were nice. Raph was kind of mean.

*)O(*

There she was, still mildly freaking out about the fact that there wasn't just one giant, supposedly mutant, turtle thing in the same room as her, but three. Then there was Sophia who was literally crawling all over them and trying to play with their weapons. Their reactions couldn't have been farther apart on the one-ten rating scale. While she, as an adult, had long ago grown out of thoughts of superheroes, they were still fresh in Sophia's mind. It was evident in the near awe she showed the one with the orange mask when he showed her his nunchucks.

She had to admit she'd calmed down by a factor of a million when Becca had gone to the orange masked one and scolded him for being a worry wart before giving him a quick kiss. The way they acted together brought her some piece of mind. Even if these guys were giants with arms the size of her head, they were gentle around Becca and Sophia. Even Bea, who seemed not to like them, especially Leo and Raph, wasn't afraid of them. She openly complained about Leo's obvious B&E, with no backlash.

Their story was far fetched and confusing, but she tried to understand the gravity of it. She was a woman of color, she'd faced the hard hitting reality of everyday racism this world held. If she faced adversity, then surely they would too, on a much grander scale. She was with Bea on the animal rights and she knew that they would end up in some lab if anyone ever believed her enough to look into them. Even if they were weird, even if they'd said they were aliens or something, she still wouldn't have done something like that to them.

She tried to come to grips with that, and stop thinking of them as 'things' but it was hard. Hell, they were turtles, for crying out loud. Except for some human traits, she still saw all the turtle things that were there. Leo was still talking to her in what she noted was supposed to be a soothing voice, but her mind went back to her culinary school days. It had been a mandatory recipe to prepare: turtle soup. Her stomach turned and she bolted to the bathroom.

She heaved, but her stomach was already empty. The acid from her stomach seared her throat as the images of chopping into a shell flooded her mind's eye. She'd ripped it apart, filleting the meat away from the skin. Her body remembered the feeling of the knife breaking apart the joints. She'd been so proud of the fried pieces of flesh floating in the broth. It had tasted wonderfully. Now her body convulsed over and over again, making her eyes leak. Bea and Becca were there, rubbing her back, soon. It had been years ago, but it was so fresh in her mind now that she couldn't stop from vomiting. The snapping turtle in her memory was replaced with one of the guys' faces and she started to cry between the times her body tried to convulse.

Bea and Becca were talking as she finally calmed down. It was difficult to push away the disturbing images. She didn't know if they would ever go away completely. "Are you okay?" Becca asked as Bea flushed the toilet again.

"I-I think so. Cl-close the door." She begged. Becca pushed it closed then looked back to her in worry. She didn't even really know this woman, but she was so kind. "Back, when I was still in culinary school, I…" She swallowed, picturing a blood soaked chopping board before shaking her head, forcing the image away. "I had to make… turtle soup." She gasped in the words as the left her mouth, feeling like she was going to be sick again. The honesty choked her as she saw the moment of horror on Becca's face. "Ye-yeah, let's um, not tell them that, okay? They kind of joke about it, but it's some very dark humor on their part." Becca whispered to her. Tabitha nodded dully.

They sat there for a minute before Tabitha thought she could go back out into the living room. She felt weak and tired, with too many emotions trying to elbow the others for dominance. As they turned the marginal corner to the living room, Tabitha was greeted with another emotion she couldn't place. Mikey looked worriedly down at Sophia who was asleep on his chest. He was trying to wake her up. But from the slight snore that came from her niece, Tabitha knew she'd be out for at least a few hours before waking her up was even a possibility. There was some apprehension on her part as this odd creature had her niece in his lap, but there was also a bit of happiness at seeing how relaxed Sophia was in what looked to be an uncomfortable position.

"What do I tell her when she wakes up?" She asked the room in general. She didn't have the answer. She could tell Sophia it had all been a dream, but she didn't think Sophia would believe her. Then there was the fact that if she let Sophia know it wasn't a dream that she would tell other people at school. She didn't want to lie to her. Sophia had already gotten enough lies from her mom; she didn't need them from her aunt as well. How could she explain this to a seven year old when she didn't even understand it herself? "That is your choice, we don't mean to bother you, as I have said. Yet, there is the fact that you, and her, can't tell anyone. The fact that nearly no one knows about us is the only reason we are alive."

"I can't just lie to her, but she's only seven. She'll want to tell her friends."

"I've got a solution." Mikey piped up and she looked to him. It was clear Leo was the one in charge, but she needed some kind of answer. "I can give you guys some of my comics. It's about a superhero turtle. She thinks we're superheroes, so if anyone asks you about it you can just show them the comics. No lying to her, and she doesn't have to be so secretive." Tabitha pondered it. Sophia was seven after all, thinking that your favorite superheroes were real wasn't that unusual. Just like Mikey said, she wouldn't have to lie to Sophia, it could even be a bit of an inside joke between them. "Sure, but I don't want to take your comics."

"Nah, it's okay, when I say my comics, I actually mean the ones that I write, I'll even make sure she gets a signed copy." Mikey gave her a thumbs up.

"Still, let me pay you-"

"Don't even bother, he won't take your money." Raph grumbled. "He's annoying like that." The largest turtle waved his hand as he yawned. "So we've briefed her, what now? It's getting late and I'm ready for bed."

Tabitha yawned as well and looked at the clock. It was three in the morning. Mortified, she sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. "I have to go home," Tabitha groaned.

"Stay here, you and Sophia can sleep on the couches. I'll let you borrow some of my clothes and I'll take Sophia to school so you can sleep in a little. Trust me, I know how stressful meeting these guys can be." Bea offered, lifting Sophia off Mikey and laying her on the love couch. "The guys will all be gone in a minute and then we can all sleep."

"Thank you, I'll take you up on your offer." Tabitha nodded to her. She blinked as she realized her eyes were sore. It felt like there were little pieces of sand behind them. All in all, she felt horrible. She didn't think any extra sleep would help her at all, but she wasn't going to pass it up.

"We'll head out." Leo affirmed.

"Thanks for getting her off me, she weighs a million pounds." Mikey joked. Raph stayed silent, but Tabitha didn't mistake that for him not having anything to say. She watched as they side-stepped through the sliding glass door on Bea's porch where Becca climbed up on Mikey's shell. Then, as if they'd never been there, they disappeared into the artificially lit New York night.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hopefully something closer to inspiration will hit me next time and I will be able to do something with this story. I am just stuck. I know what I want, I know what my characters want, but I can't seem to get it out. I've come back to this so many times and I can't seem to find a good way to piece everything together so I'm sorry for how forced all of this seems… and how long it took. I'd be surprised if most of you didn't think I had died.

A soft voice woke her, pulling her out of a dream of darkness. "Hey, I've let you sleep in as much as I could." That had to be Bea. She grimaced at the light that shone through the windows. "So-So?"

"At school already, Becca came over and took her. I've got you some clothes ready. Do you want a shower?"

"Yeah," Tabitha drawled, still dazed. "God, why is it so bright in here?"

"Sorry."

"Nah, just… what time is it?"

"It's nine. You don't have to be to work until ten, right?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"The clothes are in the bathroom." Tabitha nodded dully. Her head warned of a migraine; her throat and mouth felt dry and rough. She turned her head and found that she'd slept on it wrong, a shooting pain lacing its way from behind her ear to her shoulder.

She hadn't forgotten what had happened last night. There was no sudden realization that it had all been a dream. There wasn't a ray of hope for her semi-normal life. She could tell that by the concerned look on Bea's face. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like I'm going to become friends with them. I'm just not going to tell anyone. I don't have to meet them again, right?"

"Um…"

"Bea?" Tabitha asked when her friend didn't reply.

"At least Mikey, and probably Leo too." The blond responded flatly. "Mikey won't let anyone else give Sophia those comics. It's just the way they are. If Mikey comes here, then Leo will follow, at least until he's sure that you're not going to have some weird ass kind of trap planned for them. After, oh, a couple months or so, they'll feel comfortable enough to come by themselves."

"But, besides the comics, why would they come back around?"

"To make sure you're not snitching on them." The blond was now rustling around her apartment, cleaning up the last remnants of the mess from last night. Her agitation causing her to move around. It might have just been her still tired mind playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn she heard something in her friend's voice. "Bea? Have they ever… done something…"

"Huh?"

"Is it safe to be around them?" She asked, concerned for her friend's safety. They had had more contact with Bea than just checking in, but Bea was on edge. It was clear now.

"Oh, yeah. I don't think there is anywhere safer in New York, sometimes." There was that tone again. Bea wasn't saying something. She was shy about it, and Bea being shy wasn't normal, in the least.

"Just don't fall for them, okay? It's not… natural. I love Becca, she's one of my best friends, but I don't think she should be with Mikey." Then with a hesitative sigh she added, "Even if they are kind of made for each other."

Tabitha nodded and accepted her friends warning. It wasn't something she was interested in either. They were turtles, even if they were sentient. Like Bea said, it just wasn't natural. At the same time she couldn't hold any kind of ill feeling toward Becca for her choice.

Mikey had seemed like such a nice guy. Leo was tense and guarded. While Raph was just imposing with his size and attitude. She chuckled as she stumbled her way to the bathroom, remembering Sophia's scolding of Raph's behavior. To stand so fearless in front anyone of them it seemed you had to be seven and think they were super heroes.

*)O(*

"Raph calls dibs on the new girl," Mikey joked as he elbowed his brother in the side. Said brother replied with harsh physical abuse to his own side. Then a hand slapped his shoulder. "Mikey, you can't just say stuff like that." Becca scowled at him.

"Aw, come on, you saw the way he ogled her."

"Ain't nobody doing no olgin', so shut it, Mikey." Raph warned. Mikey wasn't fooled, he could see the small bit of blush that Raph tired to hide.

"Raph and Becca are correct. Tabitha is not like Sara, or even you, Becca. She already has a child. It hurts my pride to say this, but each of you have gotten far too close to being seriously hurt since you've lived with us. I'd rather not have to go and rescue Sophia or Tabitha next." Leo dictated to them from his spot in the chair where he was reading something. Mikey pulled Becca into his uninjured side and looked down at her. Leo was right, being with them instantly made their mates a target. It hurt his pride as well, but he wouldn't give Becca up.

"So," Becca drawled, gaining his oldest brother's attention. "You _have_ thought about hooking up with her." Leo wasn't as good at hiding the blush that started to form. Mikey chuckled at Leo as he sighed deeply and pinched the area between his eyes. "Aw, come on, leave Fearless alone." He cooed into Becca's ear. "I need help getting some of my copies out of the closet anyway."

They were going to see them tonight over at Bea's house. He promised he'd make it up to Becca's friend by bringing some food. No matter how much Bea might not like him as Becca's boyfriend the easiest way to her heart was through her stomach. She was quite the little foodie once you got to know her. He planned on bribing his way into her good graces for the rest of his life with his potstickers and cookies.

*)O(*

He wasn't sure how, but he'd been dragged along. He'd planned on staying at the lair and helping his children-burdened siblings. Still, there he sat in Bea's kitchen munching on a potsticker Mikey had brought. Tabitha held Sophia on her lap as the child tried to grab for another cookie from a plate his youngest brother had purposely placed too close to her eager fingers. "I said no more, you have to go to sleep sometime tonight to get up for school in the morning."

"Aww," the child whined, trying to wiggle away from her aunt. Tabitha adjusted her grip and firmly held the tiny girl still without hurting her or letting her closer to the cookies. The warm darkness of Tabitha's skin was dulled by a dark gray of a t-shirt that merely said 'Love' on it in hot pink letters. Plain jeans completed the simple look. "Your Aunt is right, too much sugar at night will make you grow up short." Donnie tried to help. Sophia huffed at him and crossed her arms while turning her head, letting him know that she didn't care if she grew up short or not.

Leo almost said something about Jillian one day doing the same thing, but stopped himself. They hadn't told Tabitha about the babies. It would be some time before they could trust her with that kind of information, if ever. "Alright, don't go crying to your aunt when you still can't reach the cereal on your own in a couple years." Leo watched as Sophia looked over to Donnie then the cookie. She pouted even more then stopped trying to get free, which he noticed meant that Tabitha granted her freedom. Still, the girl didn't move far from her aunt.

So far Sophia had treated them in a much calmer manner than she had the night before. He guessed it was because there wasn't as much sugar in her system, remembering the putrid smell of regurgitated ice cream. He tried not to shiver at the memory. He went back to quietly observing the new people.

There was a calmness in Tabitha's eyes when it came to anything to do with her niece. He recognized it as a firm protective stance that he'd seen on his own father's face many times, and recently on Donnie. Once again he wondered as to why it was Tabitha taking care of Sophia. "Why isn't Sophia with her mom?" He nearly smacked himself. He'd not meant to ask, but it seemed curiosity had gotten the best of him. Sophia went quiet and Tabitha leveled him with a glare. "That is none of your bussiness."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." He apologized.

"It's okay, my mommy is sick and she is getting help."

"Sophia!" Tabitha scolded. "You don't have to tell people that."

Leo nodded in understanding and pat Sophia on the head. "I hope she gets better soon." He put the pieces together and understood why Tabitha was being defensive. He knew that having a drug addict in a family caused problems. "Me too, but I like living with Aunt Tasha, she's nice."

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed." Leo teased. It earned him a smirk from the child but another icy stare from the woman. Mikey and Becca also snorted, but hid it behind their hands and turned away when Tabitha moved her gaze to them. He hadn't noticed before, but her eyes were a deep, warm brown color that darkened slowly as the iris faded into the pupil.

Sophia pulled him out of what he guessed was a stare by literally climbing up his arm. He tried not to show that she'd spooked him, although she had. He was a ninja and here he was getting so side tracked that a seven year old had snuck up on him. For a moment he also worried over his weapons then remembered taking them off earlier. As long as Sophia couldn't hurt herself, he was fine with her climbing on him. She didn't pinch or pull anything too hard and her meager weight was almost unnoticeable. He could feel her secure her position before she tapped him on the shoulder. "Mush!" She commanded.

If he'd had eyebrows they would have stood up as high as possible. Sophia ordered him again this time pointing forward. "Sophia." Tabitha gasped in shock. Leo turned back to the rest of the group, shrugging. He stood up and walked around, earning laughs from almost everyone. He like the little girl and he figured he'd be doing this with his niece and nephew soon anyway. "Faster!" The seven year old screamed in glee.

"That is enough." Tabitha scolded and grabbed Sophia from the back of his shell. He felt the small tug and stopped. "You can't just do that to people. And they are not jungle-gyms, you can't be crawling all over them."

"I don't mind, really." He put up his hands as he turned to her. He knew she was still nervous around them. He didn't want her upset anymore. She opened her mouth to say something then closed it. He noticed a heavy raise and fall of her chest indicating a few deep breaths as she sat Sophia down.

"You need to ask before you do things like that next time, okay?"

"Okay." Sophia replied before turning to him. "Thank you, Leo." He knelt down to her and smiled. "It is okay, I'm glad we got to play." He put his hand up for a high five. Sophia smiled back and touched her small hand to his. Mikey chose that time to intervene. "I almost forgot! Your comics, my little dudette." Mikey pulled out the copies and Sophia all but forgot about him.

"Just because you're a giant turtle doesn't mean you can interfere when I'm trying to teach her manners," Tabitha hissed at him in a whisper. Leo looked at her, giving her a once over. He took in what she said and thought it over. "You're right." Tabitha raised a brow at him before nodding. "I'm still not comfortable with you guys, and even though Becca said you were safe, you'll have to earn my trust."

"I understand that, and I hope that one day we will." Leo said honestly. If her trust was on the table it meant she would be more willing to keep their secret. Her straightforwardness was a nice perk to her personality. Seeing her calm herself after he'd offended her had been a nice insight as well.

The rest of the night was spent on lighter banter and activities that didn't provoke the same kind of protectiveness from Tabitha. They talked about her job, which kindled a small amount of kinship between her and Mikey as they started to talk about food. Raph and Bea argued about what to watch, Bea threatening him when he held the remote above her reach. Leo mused at the two of them being together. It might have been possible, but he sided on Bea's claim of never dating any of them. It was a line he didn't think she would cross, and he felt bad for Raph, who he thought might harbor some hope of being with the woman. Donnie sat as the odd man out, not imputing too much but he could tell his brother was doing to the same him, watching everything.

It grew late and they left. Not before Sophia went to each of them and gave them a hug though. Tabitha and Bea waved them off. Leo was pleased, everything had gone well. They took an extended path home, even more wary of bring home any threats than they had been before. He took the protection of the babies as seriously as Donnie did and for once neither Mikey or Raph complained.


	7. Chapter 7

She sighed, melancholy for a moment. Things had evened out and become natural for her here. The people around her knew what they were doing and worked well as a team so her job was easy. Sophia was doing well in school, despite the troubles she must be facing. It couldn't be easy not seeing her mom, but the young girl showed no signs of worry at all. She hadn't had to see the turtles since the night they gave Sophia the comics, luckily. She liked them well enough, but she didn't want to have to deal with them all the time. They should probably come with a giant label that said 'Drama' or something to that extent.

Her life currently left her feeling unchallenged. Things were going fine and it didn't really sit well with her somehow. She should have been pleased, living a less stressful life, right? Yet it felt like someone was smothering her. There wasn't anything to work hard for right now. She was set up, with everything falling into place, and it just felt wrong.

She wondered if she was getting a touch of depression. There was no reason not to be happy, but she just wasn't. Her phone rang in her pocket, startling her out of her daydream. She looked at it, a text from Bea. At first she worried over Sophia's safety then she opened the message. 'Another wonderful day with So-So winning 2nd place in the art show, she's so proud of her swans.' Another message pinged through. 'I told Becca, and Mikey wants to give her some more comics for the achievement, sorry.' Tabitha groaned. There went the peace she'd been feeling and any downhearted feelings with it.

She started to vamp up her mood. She'd need to be firing on all cylinders to deal with pushy Leo and ADHD positive Mikey. 'Grumpy' wasn't so bad as he sat and said little until he could pester Bea, and Donnie was even kind of nice. She recalled Leo trying to defy her parenting of Sophia. He'd apologized but it still stuck her as rude. It was her niece and her responsibility.

Again she back tracked in her own head, reminding herself that he probably never got to deal with children. It wasn't intentional.

*)O(*

Leo had finally figured out a solution to Jordan's crying. Old 'Space Heroes' reruns. He'd been playing with him, trying to tire him out, when they had come on TV. As if a spell had been placed over the boy, his head turned to the TV as he lay on the couch, mesmerized. Leo raised his brow, looking between him and the TV. Once a commercial came on Jordan was right back to being fussy, but not crying. Leo cooed to him, something that had stopped seeming to be utterly ridiculous, and waited for the show to come back on.

Just like the first time, Jordan ignored him and watched the TV. "Hey Sara, come see this." He called to her. He showed her his findings and she groaned. "Watching TV is bad for the brain, we don't need him addicted to it before he is even a year old." Still she smiled as all of her children were quiet and happy for just a few minutes. Leo beemed inwardly with a bit of pride. His sister used to be able to smile at nearly anything, just like Becca. Seeing her soak up a moment where she wasn't stressed was nice.

"Hey, Leo." Mikey whispered and Leo looked over to his brother. "So-So got 2nd place in an art competition so I'm going over to Bea's tonight to give her some more comics, okay?" Leo could tell it wasn't really a question, but a statement that let Leo know this was something his little brother was going to do regardless.

That was how he ended up there in Bea's apartment. Sophia and Tabitha-Lynn had yet to appear. Becca and Bea talked back and forth about something at the pharmacy. Raph had opted to stay at home and help Donnie and Sara. Mikey was jittery, constantly reorganizing his comics for the little girl. When they finally arrived it was like a small explosion had gone off in the room. Mikey cheered, as did Bea and Becca. Leo tried to remain calm. There was so much energy around the room as Sophia ran to everyone, hugging and showing off her picture as she made her rounds.

He had thought that she would have stopped to talk to Mikey about the picture, get is opinion. He was the one here with gifts for her. So it surprised him when he was the one she went to last and immediately crawled into his lap and opened up the rolled piece of extra large construction paper. "See what I made? It's the skyline, on a smoggy day when the sun shines on it and makes it all orange. I used different rulers to make different sizes for the buildings. I even added the water, it's blue, like your mask. Do you like it?" Leo nodded, smiling down at her.

"It looks like you put a lot of effort into it, but I have a question." Leo spoke softly with a small. Sophia tilted her head. "Do you like it? Cause even if we all like it, it only matters if it makes you happy."

"I do like it, it was fun to draw and it was hard, but still fun." Sophia beamed, smiling down at her own picture. "I worked hard, but Naomi's looked even better."

"Psh," Leo smirked with a dismissive noise. "That just means you'll have to draw more so yours are even better. Don't forget though, we are all different people so some of us are better at different things than others. I can't draw nearly as good as you, or Mikey, but I'm really good at making sure my brothers don't get hurt."

Sophia nodded before hugging him. "Thank you," she whispered before jumping up, remembering her present from Mikey. Leo smiled after her before he noticed Tabitha's eyes on him. She didn't say anything, but gave him a thumbs up.

*)O(*

A/N: Still here, still trying to figure this one out. Sorry it's short, but it's all I've got for now. Love you all.


	8. Chapter 8

*)O(*

A/N: Honestly didn't realize that I hadn't actually updated the story for the last chapter so… (I added the file to FF, but I forgot that I had to 'add new chapter' to get it into the story. Can't tell it has been forever since I've updated my stories, can you?)

*)O(*

He leaned over the edge of a small bakery. Below were two people. One was obviously a druggie while the other was a dealer. Leo shook his head. He couldn't understand people sometimes. Letting out a breathless sigh he dropped down onto the pavement between the two. The men were surprised, a given considering a shadow just appeared before them. Curses almost flew from their lips. Leo snapped his leg out, shoving the addict into some trashcans and the wall behind before he crumbled on top of a bag of something. At the same time he jabbed out with his right, breaking the dealer's nose and laying him out flat on the concrete. Neither man moved.

Leo carefully picked the dealer's pockets, wary of any needles. He found a total of twelve baggies, each with roughly a gram of something white inside. Tsking, he dumped them all out on the concrete and drowning them with some water from a canteen.

"Having fun, Fearless?" Raph called down to him.

"Not really, I'm already done here. Since letting the police know about druggies doesn't seem to help I guess Donnie's plan of just destroying everything will have to do." With little to no effort he climbed back up to the roof, shimmying up a useless lamppost. "Have you gotten anything done tonight?"

"Nah, just an unarmed mugging. That guy down there is probably the most we're gonna get out of this part of town for now. Wanna head down to the docks or something?"

" No, Mikey and I went there last night and we didn't even find any teenagers trying to spray paint anything." Leo sighed as he and Raph continued on their mapped route of this part of the city.

"The hell is going on man? This is New York, shouldn't there be more to do around this town?"

"That's what I've been thinking." Leo jumped over a large gap, coming down still running. "But there have been so many arrest in the past couple of weeks, I think even the idiots know better than to try something right now."

"Wanna go home then?" Raph asked. Leo paused, skidded to a halt and looked around. Raph stopped as well, looking from Leo to everything around them. "Did you just ask to go home?" Leo teased. Raph, realizing that he hadn't missed some threat, sneered at Leo. "Just making sure you weren't getting too bored." Raph excused. "Anyway, aren't we getting close to Tabitha and Sophia's place?"

Leo looked away from his brother. It was true. This part of town had always been on their patrol. Yet now, whenever they came through, they always checked on them. "Let's go make sure they're still okay." Leo volunteered.

Raph stayed silent as they hopped the next dozen roofs over to Tabitha's street. Leo was glad for the silence his brother displayed. He grew nervous as he neared the same spot that he'd once spied on her from. It was late and all the lights were out already. No big surprise there. It was normal for most people to be asleep right now. A flash of disappointment went through his mind before he shoved it away. He wasn't supposed to want to see her. She wasn't anything to him. Just a risk.

"Leo." Raph's voice next to him was soft. It was odd. Raph was never soft. "You like her, don't you." There was an edge to his voice now which made Leo look over at his younger brother to make sure he was okay. They were hidden in the shadows, and even for Leo it was hard to make out the familiar shapes of his brother's face. Even still he couldn't place what any of the features meant. "No, she's a liability. That's all." He reassured Raph. At the same time he was reassuring himself.

He couldn't say he wasn't attracted at least a little. Romantically inclined to act upon those feelings? No, not him. He had his family. He had to put them first, always. It was his duty as their leader and older brother. Now he had a niece and nephews who would look to him as well. Not to meantion that she seemed to share Bea's views on them. They were people, but not people that other humans should date.

"Then I'm going to try my luck with her." Raph's tone and face gave clear warnings now. This is how he'd get when Leo challenged him on things. This time, though, all Leo could do was shake his head. "She's like Bea, Raph. She'll never date any of us."

"Either of us, and I'm going to try." Raph grunted. Leo pinched the space between his eyes. What in the world was wrong with his brothers? "Fine, but if she says no you have to back off."

"Just don't get in my way."


	9. Chapter 9

SO I'M UPDATING AS I WRITE, NO CHECKS OF ANY KIND, WHAT YOU GET IS ALL I HAVE THE ENERGY FOR AND I'M DETERMINED TO FINISH THIS THIS EVENTUALLY.

*)O(*

"I wanna see Mikey! And Leo!" Sophia screamed, big tears streaming down her face. "It's not fair! They're my friends!" The girl kept yelling at the top of her lungs. Full meltdown mode had been established. Tabitha took a breath. "I said no." She said calmly. "I know that you're upset but they're probably busy. It's rude to just demand something of other people. They can't just come by every time that you make a new picture, So-So."

"But it's a picture of them! Mikey would like it! I know it. You're just a big meanie!" It almost looked like Sophia was about to calm down. She'd take a deep breath and held it which was something Tabitha had taught her. Hopeful, Tabitha took a step towards her, ready to console the seven year old. "I hate you!" Sophia screamed.

Tabitha stood still in shock as Sophia bolted to her room, slamming the door behind her. She probably looked like a giant fish, her mouth working up and down, but no words coming out of it. Of all the things Sophia had said to her, that was a first. Since the day she'd been born Sophia had always idolized her. They'd had disagreements before this. Every time Tabitha had been able to calm her down and help her work through her emotions. Tabitha herself had never before been the reason of Sophia's sour moods.

The words stung. They hurt like almost nothing had hurt before. Suddenly she was back in middle school with a bunch of girls pulling on her hair, yelling at her. That was how those three words felt. Like she was a preteen being bullied at school again.

She bit her lip. The sting of tears was present but she refused to cry. Sophia was just seven, she reminded herself. She didn't understand how those words could make someone feel. Tabitha tried to coach herself, remind herself that she was supposed to be raising this child now. Still, part of her was bitter. She'd changed so much of her life for Sophia. Since the day that the girl was born she'd had a protector in her aunt. This was what Tabitha got for trying to make sure she had a good life?

As emotions battled out inside of her she could hear Sophia crying hysterically in her room. She wanted to be the one screaming and crying, yelling for all the world to hear that it wasn't fair. But she was the adult and with being the adult came the responsibility to hold everything together. So she started taking deep breaths, in through her nose and out through her mouth. She counted every breath, making sure to hold it as long as possible.

"Sophia! Get out here. Now."

*)O(*

"What?" Leo asked as he nearly broke his neck looking towards Becca. His sister tapped her foot on the ground and rolled her eyes at him. "You heard me, Fearless."

"But why me?"

"Cause Sophia is in the middle of a tantrum and won't stop until she sees one of you. Please? Tabitha sounded like she needed some help."

"I'll go." Raph cut in, already making for the sewer exit. "I'm great with kids, after all." He boasted. Leo wanted to yell after him, to tell him to stop. Instead he nodded. Raph nodded back. Becca stood still, staring at him. "The hell was that?" She demanded.

"Raph's got it covered. Like he said, he's good with kids."

"Sara's kids. Not Sophia, you know she doesn't like him."

"What do you want me to do? Raph's already gone and Sara and Donnie need a break from the kids." He brushed away the topic, turning away from Becca and moving to go do as he'd said and give the parents a break.

"I wanted you to go because I knew you wanted to." He'd barely heard her and before he could ask her what she meant she was already gone.


	10. Chapter 10

*)O(*So I'm going to try uploading in whatever segments I get whenever I decide I have the energy to write, so here is the next tid-bit.

Also, my word processor isn't working, and won't be coming back, so it'll be really difficult to write until I get another computer.*)O(*

Sophia hadn't been happy when Raph showed up, but at least it was something and after a great deal of attitude and even a small simple lecture from the largest of the turtles. Sophia was pacified and had agreed to try to work through her temper better next time, apologizing for her attitude earlier. Emotionally exhausted already, Tabitha headed to bed after awkwardly shooing Raph out of her apartment and into the night air. He'd tried to stick around after talking with Sophia, but Tabitha needed some peace and the large turtle was anything but peaceful with all of his pacing around her living room.

She retired to her bed and tossed and turned for what felt like hours,

The phone rang. She'd never changed the default ringer so it was an annoyingly loud sound, like a bell alarm clock. As she opened her eyes, though they felt like sandpaper, she wondered just who would have the nerve to call her at this time of night. She didn't know the exact time but she knew it couldn't have been long after she'd finally nodded off. Glaring at the flashing lights coming from her screen she swiped to answer and managed to growl out, "Who the hell is this?"

"Miss Tabitha-Lynn?"

"Who wants to know at…" She checked the time, still squinting and glaring. "Four in the morning?"

"Ma'am, my name is Tracy Elwood. I work at the prison. I understand this isn't the best time to call you, but I have some bad news."

"Prison? What's wrong?"

"Just to confirm you are Miss Tabitha-Lynn Carter, correct?"

"Yes, now tell me about my sister." She huffed, sitting up finally and trying to focus.

"Ma'am I'm sorry to inform you that your sister, Amy Carter, has passed away." Tabitha shook her head. No, that wasn't right. Amy had never been one to cause trouble after being sober in jail for a few weeks. There wouldn't have been anyway for her to get hurt. It didn't make sense. "Miss Carter?" Tabitha remained mute. "Miss Carter, are you there?" Tracy asked a few times before Tabitha could answer. "I'm here… What… How did she…?"

"It seems that your sister got a hold of some illegal contraband and overdosed on pain killers and Xanax. We are currently-"

Tabitha stopped listening. It had been her addiction in the end. Her sister had died at her own hands and now she would have Sophia forever. She didn't mind raising her, but she'd always held hope that one day Amy would come back and be healthy again, able to take back over. She didn't wish it all for her own sake.

Sophia loved her mom, as any child loves their mother. Regardless of the mistreatment and the neglect, Sophia still looked to her mom as any child did and this was going to devastate her. How could she tell her? What did you say to someone that young to try to get them to understand that they would never see their mom again?


	11. ENJOY Ch11

Ankot ch11

She never went back to sleep. Not that night and not for another one after that. She'd held Sophia for hours on end while they had cried for all they were worth.

Tabitha, for all of her normal rage, couldn't get angry at a fly.

If it hadn't of been for Bea and Becca she might have forgotten to feed Sophia because Tabitha herself didn't eat for the next two days.

She screamed her loss into her pillow until her voice cracked and her throat felt like it would bleed. That only came after trying to comfort Sophia as she begged for her mother with promises of angelic behavior.

But seeing her sister's, pale, empty, still body on the morgue table almost made her puke. It wouldn't have been enough. How could she get rid of all of these emotions at once? Everything had caught in her throat, choking her. Yet she was able to breathe. Hyperventilate might have been a more accurate description.

After that moment all she could remember was the endless phone calls, Sophia crying, and Bea and Becca. Then came the funeral itself. The few friends and sparse family she knew how to contact floated about for a time. Then she was alone with Sophia again.

How was she supposed to raise her? She'd had a plan before. What kind of an example was she giving her? But pain clouded everything.

How many days had it been? When was the last time they had ate anything besides some casserole mush some one had handed them? When had showers been a concern?

Just then a tap at her window jolted her into the present.

She pulled the curtain, surprised to find all of the turtles gathered around the sparse opening. Becca hung off Mikey's back. Right. They were still real and Sophia probably wanted to see them. Ushering them in, she went and got her niece.

For the first time in over a week, Sophia smiled. She yelled at first sight and went running to the group. Tabitha watched as she bypassed both Mikey and Raph, who had both been ready to receive the child's affection, and latched onto Leo's leg.

Tenderly, he picked her up, cradling her against his side like she weighed no more than she had when she was three. "Hey, So-So, I missed you. Are you okay? Becca told me everything."

"I... I miss Mommy, but Becca, and Bea, and Aunt Tasha said that it's okay. Leo, can I have a horsey ride again?"

"Anything you want, as long as Aunt Tasha says it's ok." Leo looked her way and all she could do was nod.

As Leo went about entertaining Sophia, Tabitha's nose picked up something. Something... Meaty. To her surprise her stomach gave a longing rumble. Suddenly she was hungry. She looked around for the smell and found Mikey, popping latches off a large storage container. Rosemary, bay, thyme, and onion wafted through the room. "I brought some food, I know Becca said that all you've eaten has been casseroles and fast food. I hope you like stew." Mikey smiled, handing her the container. "I hope I didn't muck it up too bad for you either."

Her mouth watered. "Thanks. I'm going to eat some now." She mumbled as she began a zombie shuffle to the kitchen.

She tenderly tried the first bite. It was heaven. The meat was tender but chewy, the broth was rich and well flavored. Chunks of carrot, slivers of onion, and perfectly cut squares of potatoes gave it the needed volume to fill her stomach. The group's clamouring in the living room was drowned out as she continued to eat. It tasted like home.

As she finished the first bowl, and started scooping out a second she noticed that it was silent. She looked over to the group and saw them staring at her. "What?" She asked around a carrot she was still trying to consume. The bunch of them started to laugh. Donnie chuckled out, "I've never been so jealous of someone eating something before."

"I want some too, Aunt Tasha!"

"I'm glad you like it." Mikey laughed.

Confused, she raised an eyebrow. "You looked like you wanted to marry that soup," Becca clarified. Sophia clamored off Leo's shoulders, with only a little help from the turtle himself. Quickly gathering the items, soon Sophia was next to her waiting for her serving. Tears prickled in her eyes. How long had it been since Sophia had been interested in food?

Sophia took a bite and made a face, fluttering her eyelashes and smiling real big. The group went into an uproar of laughter. Sophia giggled around the food in her mouth and beamed at them. Tabitha couldn't help but roll her eyes. She nudged Sophia with her elbow, which got even more giggles. "Alright, stop laughing before you choke."

It was a couple hours later and numerous piggy back rides later when Sophia fell asleep. Head on the arm rest of the chair, one foot on the other, as she hugged Leo's captured arm.

They had spent the time talking about their home, how something epic seemed to happen everyday. Even telling stories of some of their older victories, or hilarious failures. It kept her mind busy, granting her some peace.

"Guys, I have to go." Donnie gasped after looking at his phone.

"What's wrong? Is it-?"

"Yes! Jordan is crawling!" Excitement clear, Donnie was already making his way to her window. Tabitha realized what was being said and the clues of a proud parent. "You have a kid?" She gaped. The joyous banter in the room died. It looked like the cat was out of the bag, and it seemed like it was a big cat.

"Shit, look, Leo, just tell her. I have to go, one of the other two might crawl too and I want to be there!"

"Yep, definitively your show, Fearless. We're going to head out with Donnie." Tabitha watched as Mikey and Becca pulled Raph with them and all that was left was a giant turtle trapped by a tiny sleeping girl.

"Uh, I think we should get her in her bed." Leo sheepishly said. "She's fine. Donnie has a kid? Wait... Three kids? How did he get them?"

"He didn't steal some human kids, if that's what you're getting at." Leo said, defensive. "They are his, flesh and blood. We were all surprised too. We didn't know we could... you know... with... humans."

"What humans? As far as you have told me all I know of is Becca. And it doesn't look like she's ever been pregnant."

"Sara, Donnie's fiancee and a sister to us all." He seemed to grow serious for a moment. "I'm sorry to have kept things from you, but I have to keep my family safe."

She wanted to be angry. She felt a bit betrayed, but she couldn't say that she didn't understand. So much of them was a secret. She was never supposed to even know about them. But the secret of a family was a large one. Would Becca as become pregnant? Just how did that work? How could a human... mate with one of them? What did the babies look like?

"How?"

"Um..." His discomfort apparent.

"Okay, Uh, are they... like you? Or like Sara?"

"You know, hold on, I have some pictures." He pulled out his phone with his free hand. A few button punches, and some agitated mumbles, and he held out the object to her. Three tiny turtles, each in diapers, and distinctly not entirely turtle, gazed back at her. "You'll have to talk to Donnie about the exact how's and why's. But they seem to be growing just as we did."

She nodded. It was odd. To think of him as being small once. How would he have been as a child? How did he play with his brothers? What did he do for fun?

She handed back the phone. "I'll take her, thank you for explaining." She went to move Sophia, but Leo readjusted and picked her up in one motion. "I've got her. I'll lay her down and leave. Thank you for having us."

Something seemed different about him. Tabitha wished she was better at reading people because the shift was bothering her. He would open up a little, and then close himself off. It was like Sophia was playing with a light switch. On and off again, and Tabitha wondered at the reason. Leo went and laid Sophia down in her bed. Tabitha waited until he came back.

"No, thank you. I needed some company. So did So-So. She likes you. She was disappointed when Raph showed up and not you, you know." She teased.

"Yeah, I was told. In length." Again she cocked an eyebrow, but Leo just turned and shimmied his way out of her house. "Bye," he tossed over his shoulder.


	12. ANKOT CH 12

ANKOT CH 12

)O(* Oh, my god, guys, galls, all ya'll others... Did you know... that you can use a **_keyboard_** with your **_phone?_** I've been without a true way to type for so long that finishing this just seemed impossible. You don't realize how much just a thousand words are for a chapter until you have to use _texting_ as your way of inputting the letters. So I'm proud to announce that at least for a few chapters, I'm back. Let's see what all this finger freedom does for my creative side.

To those of you that have been waiting so patiently, I thank you. Please forgive some of my clear typing errors while I accustom myself to this tiny wireless beauty. I think I'll call her... Iris.

)O(*

The urge to reach out and touch her had been startling. He had wanted to comfort her, tell her that everything would be okay. He would be there for them.

But those were things he never got the chance to say as he'd been pushed out of the window.

He had barely known her, but her grief felt so much like his own. When she held back brimming tears, and her voice got tight, part of him ached. He knew not many people in her family had cared for her sister and fewer still had given her any real emotional support. Becca had made that clear. Her only close family was already gone.

Something kicked him from inside his shell. It made his stomach flop. How lonely did she feel? How isolating must it be? He had always had his brothers and father. Now he had even more people, not only to look after, but to also watch his shell in return.

He made a plan as he jumped the ledges and roofs on his way home.

)O(*

Every three days. That was the new routide.

Besides getting back into school and work for the pair of them, they started getting regular visits from the turtles. It might be Leo and Donnie, or Leo and Mikey, or Leo and Raph, but Leo always made an appearance. Becca would pop up sporadically with them.

With the increase in visits came more comradere. Tabitha began to look forward to them. They were fun. Mikey's unstoppable humor. Raph's hidden joy of small crafts that Sophia would give him. Leo's ability to talk softly and listen intently.

Sophia ate up the attention like the tiny diva that she was. Out of the bunch, Leo seemed to be her favorite, maybe second only to Mikey when he came through with a new comic for her.

Raph remained the least favorite out of the bunch, though that didn't mean that his company wasn't welcomed. He seemed to soften the more he was around, which was nearly as much as Leo. His rough attitude made him seem more closed off than he actually wanted to be.

Though one day Donnie had taken home the prize of being the best person in the entire world when he'd shown Sophia a bit of science.

One small piece of copper wire, check. One battery, check. One very impressed little girl, oh, most definetly check and double checked.

It was amazing how quickly they seemed to mould into their lives. She found herself waiting for them at the window, smiling as Leo cumbersomely squeezed his way in. Grinning when Mikey made a fool of himself for their enterainment.

Then she didn't see or hear from them for almost a whole week and she grew worried. Becca was absent and even Bea wasn't sure on their where abouts. She tried ringing all of them and got only voice mails and unanswered text messages in return. Day four with out turtle contact and she began to grow curious. Day five and she was worried. Day six and she paced in her apartment after putting Sophia to bed early clutching her cell phone with both hands as she sent out a mass text to all of the people she had numbers for.

Nothing. Dead silence returned her concern. She'd listened to countless stories of enemies of old, and new villians trying to gain a foot hold in the empty space left in the turtle's wake. Could something have happened to them? Where were they? Why should she care? They had grown close, but did she really consider them friends? They were giant turtles. She was human.

But then again, weren't they as well?

She hadn't seen the green skin or shells in weeks. All she'd seen were bright eyes and smiles. All she'd heard was laughter and concern on their parts. She knew, deep down that the fact that they weren't 'human' had ceased to matter long ago, but she couldn't tell exactly when. Exasperated, she threw her phone onto the couch, glaring at it as it soared the short distance. As it bounced the first time, it started to ring.

Near panic surged through her. She lunged for it and nearly fell onto the couch herself. She answered the call, relief coursing through her veins as she saw Leo's contact on the screen. "Hello?"

"Tabitha-Lynn?"

"Leo?"

"Hey..." He seemed to smirk through the phone to her.

"Hey? Are you serious? It's been almost a whole week and none of you have thought to answer your phones at all? Do you have any idea how many messages I've sent you?"

"57, well actually, you sent ME 31, but everyone else got theirs as well." He WAS smirking, she would put money on it.

"Oh, so sorry," she said as sarcastically as possible. "I thought YOU were the one in charge. Next time I'll just get ahold or Raph or Donnie."

"Now, now, no need for drastic actions and all." Something deep down in Tabitha's stomach turned. They joked so easily. They teased back and forth so well with each other. She never heard him talk to other people like he did with her. There was always a warmth there. Well not always, but it had crept in at some point.

"Sorry, we were spurred into an impromptu outing for the week. No technology. I tried to text you about it, but when I got back I saw that it didn't send." There was a pause. He was trying to figure out how to say something. She stayed quiet to help him. If you spoke over him he'd get all authoritarian and say the correct words but not with the right tone. "I didn't mean to make you worry, Tabitha. I'm sorry." The sincerity hit her gut like a brick.

"Pssht, worried? Who was worried? I text everyone like twenty times in a row." She tried to brush off the worry. "Where did you guys go?"

"The farmhouse. It's nice this time of year. Splinter wanted us to get our faces out of the TV. Plus it was great to see the kids exploring."

"Jordan still only crawling?"

"He started walking actually, he's caught back up to the others. Just took him a little longer to get his balance."

"He had all the strength to start crawling, though. Maybe he'll be a mini version of Raph?"

"Oh, god, I hope not." Leo laughed. He'd place his hand over his stomach and tilt his head back. His eyes would nearly close as he pictured the image in his head. He was nowhere near, but she could still see him in her mind's eye.

"God, I missed you." She giggled. Then she realized what she'd said and how it sounded.

Instantly she added, "You guys! Yeah, uh, when are you ALL going to come over again?" She let out a nervous chuckle. Why was she so nervous? She'd just slipped up, right? That was all. "Sophia-"

"I missed you too." Leo's voice was low, almost like he was whispering. Yet, despite the volume, she didn't miss it and the tone that went with it. What was that? Her mind tried to place it, but all she came up with was... Longing.

The distinct sound of a throat clearing on the other end of the phone was followed up by, "How is the little princess, by the way?"

"Bored and getting on my nerves. Well not now, she just went to bed."

"Okay, is it okay if we stop by tomorrow?"

"Yes!" She answered too quickly. She facepalmed and shook her head, confused at her own behavior. What was wrong with her?

"I'll see you at sunset then." There was that smirk again. She could hear it.

She hung up and looked at her screen until it went blank. She was excited. She was relieved. Some part of her was also nervous.

Doing a mental once over of herself she shook her head. Her heart was fluttering. She felt a little dizzy with relief. If she didn't know better she'd say that she was getting sick. She decided she needed to go to bed. This would make a good surprise for Sophia in the morning.

)O(*


	13. Ch 13

She was sick. Her stomach protested everything. The gray matter between her ears developed a heart beat of it's own and was banging away at the inside of her skull. Muscles weak and bones sore, Tabitha felt like DEATH had paid her a visit in the night.

She had texted Leo right after she'd texted her boss. She'd tried to tell him that it was probably best to stay away for the night and that she hadn't told Sophia yet so he wouldn't have to worry about her. His reply had been simple. Leave the window open and he would be there with some soup from Mikey. He didn't care that she was sick, only that he might be able to help her.

As she wallowed in bed nearly all day, she started to day dream. Maybe it was the fever doing her in. Yet, she had to wonder, just what was it like for Becca and Sara? She had yet to meet Sara. Still, if Donnie had chosen her, she knew that there was a high likely-hood that she'd like the woman as well. Not to mention that now that the secret was out, Becca never shut up about the babies and Sara.

Becca obviously wasn't as reclusive as Sara, who seemed to have been that way since before meeting the guys. It seemed a commonality in the group that Becca was the outgoing one while Sara was a homebody. So how did Becca stand it? Living underground, never seeing the sun. Having a boyfriend who was so different. Living with not only him, but all of his brothers, his father and what seemed to be a step mom, and his brother's wife and kids. There were so many people. They were all clearly close, but how could so many people tolerate each other on those kinds of levels? She didn't even like a quarter of the people she knew.

Again she asked herself what it would be like to live like that. As she hadn't been invited to the base yet she could only picture a cave. Inside she pictured trying to cook with all of those people standing about, in her way. No, that would not go well, she thought.

The day wore on and Sophia required her attention. Snack, homework, dinner, helping with a project, each task draining Tabitha more and more.

She could barely keep her eyes open when she heard a small knock at the window and then the nearly silent slide of it opening. Sophia, who had been oblivious to Tabitha's plight, bounded out of bean-bag chair that had been gifted to her from Mikey. Leo, who was cumbersomely trying to manuever inside was greeted by Sophia latching onto his leg. "Sophia, what did we say about stopping us when we're trying to come in?"

"Don't, cause if I do one of you are going to fall and break Mikey's shell."

"Close enough," Leo laughed. Sophia backed off until Leo, and a large bowl with an airtight seal, were through the window. Then there was no help for the large turtle. Sophia attatched herself to his leg and refused to let go. Not that it bothered Leo at all. He walked like there was nothing there. One small detour into the kitchen and he was back in the living room, by her side, with Sohpia still latched on.

A bowl of chicken noodle soup, homemade, was in his hands. Light broth, big chunks of soft carrots, tender chicken, and where those homemade noodles? A couple bits of celery floated around.

"Thanks," she murmured.

"Not a problem."

"Leo!" Sophia nearly yelled. "Where have you been? I missed you!" The little girl whined as she nearly crawled up Leo's leg, trying to get onto his shell. Usually Tabitha would scold her, let her know that behavior like that was rude. Right now, Tabitha barely had the energy to hold up the bowl as she sipped the broth.

Leo looked down at her niece and smiled softly. "Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Yes!"

"Then you should ask. People won't know what you want if you can't tell them."

"But you do," Sophia giggled as Leo hoisted her onto his shoulder like she weighed no more than a wet towel. Tabitha smiled at that.

The easy way Leo moved around them now, it was nice to see. He'd always been... She struggled to think of a word to define it. Graceful, maybe? But there was more to it than just grace. He was at ease, comfortable. It was something she felt when he was near. A massive difference to the way things had started out.

There was some playing, laughter, and eventually a tired young girl. Still, she stuck to Leo. They talked about his brothers. How they had been training. Then Sophia did something that even a sickly Tabitha couldn't believe. She started to act like she was sparring with Leo.

"I want to get big like you and Mikey and fight bad guys too!" Followed closely by a solid punch to the middle of his chest. Waving her hand about for a moment, but trying her best to stand in a martial art's pose, Sophia went in for a lighter attack to the same area again. "Sophia! We don't hit!" Tabitha nearly feel over herself trying to get to her. Just what was the girl thinking? Leo could easily hurt her!

"Oh, oh no. You've got me!" Leo exaggerated, falling to his side in an overly dramatic way."I've been defeated by a strong hero!" He let out as he gasped loudly and threw his arms out, 'dying'. The absurdity of it stopped Tabitha from trying to move. Leo hadn't once given her a reason to fear him being around Sophia. He'd been kind and gentle with her from the start.

Then what Sophia said hit Tabitha in her stomach so hard she felt sick all over again. "No, silly, you're not allowed to die, only bad guys die when they fight with heroes." If only that was how this world worked.

"Right, right, my bad." Leo laughs as he sits up. "Anyway, you're still a little young to be fighting bad guys. Leave that to me, for now, okay?"

"But I wanna be strong like you!"

"You already are." Leo smiled at her and patted her head. Tabitha just stared. Then her mouth started to move on it's own, pulling into a grin. "How did you get so good with kids anyway?"

Leo looked over to her and gave her a soft smile and then... He winked. It was quick, and she nearly missed it, but the sight stopped her heart. When it started beating again Sophia had Leo's attention again.

She shook her head. She was sick. That was why she felt like that. No other reason. It must have been some weird symptom. She put a hand on her chest where something that wasn't all just a cold pulled at her heart. _Oh, shit... I like him._


	14. Ch 14

)O(* Be careful that you've read yesterdays update bedore this one. Back to back updates can be confusing, I know, but the Muse is a fickle yet persistent bitch sometimes. Again, sorry for the typos and whatnot, Iris is pretty finicky. *)O(*

Sophia was snoring lightly as he laid her in her bed. Tabitha was out on the couch. He'd been so happy to see her, and so sad to see her sick. He'd missed her. More than he realized he would.

The true reason for the temporary extraction from the city was still being held from her. That was the way it had to be though. At least for now. She was a normal citizen who had been caught up in their family purely by accident. His accident, yet he couldn't beat himself up about it now. Not anymore. She was no threat, even a welcomed destraction.

She was quick witted, strong willed, kind. Well, that last part might hide behind a shell on her part, but it was there. Her determination to her niece was heart warming. The obvious pain she'd been in lately was heartbreaking for him. Now she was sick and miserable, waiting for him to get back from putting Sophia in bed.

"If you keep letting her fall asleep on you like that she'll never go back to sleeping in her bed." Tabitha teased tiredly. She'd forgone trying to sit up and was laying down, her hand over her eyes. The throw blanket from the back of the couch covered her legs and not much more. She was shivering a little bit. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again. It had become ever more clear the longer he'd stayed that Tabitha was feeling worse than she was letting on. Even now, she attempted kept any trace of discomfort out of her voice. "I'll be fine... Hopefully, when I wake up tomorrow."

"Yes, I hope so too." He smiled at her. She moved her hand away from her eyes. "Would you sit down?" She snapped. "You're making me wanna get up and pace around, too." She grumbled out. Leo tried to hide a grin. He chose the chair. If it could hold Raph then it would hold him. Not that he didn't know that every piece of furniture here could support him. It was just a curtiousy on his part to try not to break what he sat in. Second-hand furniture for so long had instilled a wariness in him.

He couldn't help but notice how hard Tabitha seemed to be trying to stay awake. "I should probably just go so you can get some rest." He went to stand almost as soon as he'd sat down.

"No! Stay!" Tabitha said. Simultaniously she turned and reached out a hand to him.

Without thinking he grabbed ahold of the offered appendage. "Sure," he murmurred, looking at their joined hands. Her rich brown skin melded well with his green. Her long slim fingers almost reached around two of his. Then he realized what he'd done and immediately began to panic. This obviously wasn't what she'd meant to do. He went to release her hand, the only option he had. He was even ready to apologize for invading her personal space.

As his grip loosened... hers tightened. His eyes left their joined hands to look at her. Rich brown eyes met his. They might have been blood shot and puffy, but oh, were they beautiful. She was beautiful. Her hair was pulled into a bun and little hairs that escaped were plastered against her face or sticking up in an adorable way. Her lips opened like she was going to say something.

A strong shiver ran across her body. Then he looked closer. Even though her skin typically had that rich, warm tone to it, this was different. She was flushed. She had a fever and was refusing to rest properly. He'd been there for a while and he'd yet to see her take any medicine. "When was the last time you took anything for your cold?"

"I- uh- um..." Tabitha fumbled. "I don't remember. Before Sophia got home?" Without worrying about personal space this time, Leo placed a hand against her forehead. She was hot. He took only a half second to laugh at the double meaning inside his head. "You need something before your brain melts. Where is it? I'll get it for you."

"Bathroom." Tabitha groaned. "You don't have to take care of me. I can-" He cut her off with a squeeze to her hand before letting go.

Fever reducers and a bottle of water were easily rounded up and ready for her in just a few moments. During the time it had taken him, she'd sat up and kicked the blanket off herself. He rolled his eyes. Mikey and Raph used to do that when they were younger.

While she was busy taking two pills and a gulp of water, he covered her back up. His actions granting him a frustrated whine of protest. "It's hot." She complained and started to kick it off again. "You need to stay warm to help your body." He argued, readjusting the blanket again. A frustrated groan was her reply.

He went to go sit back down in the chair when he felt a warm hand pull him backwards to the couch. Pull was a nice word. Yank would fit the description better. He nearly fell on top of Tabitha. Once he was sure he hadn't, he tried to look at her again and figure out what had happened. Instead, her arms wrapped around his arm and she laid her head just under his shoulder. "You're cool." She whispered as her forehead pressed against his bicep.

His chest pulled. His shell was tight. He instantly knew his hands had turned clammy. Was his throat always this dry? Leo tried to calm himself, to remember that she was doing this because she was sick. Nevertheless, where her skin touched his felt like sparklers going off. When her lips brushed his skin as she turned her head, something electric ran down his spine.

"Tabitha?" He finally forced out. "Are-"

"I'm tired. You're comfortable. Your skin feels good. It's so hot. Not your skin..." she trailed off. Her words were sparse. He worried now that her fever might be too high. "Nap, 'kay?" Was the last thing she said before he felt something warm and wet slide down his arm.

Drool. He shivered, grossed out more than anything for a moment. She was already asleep. She was drooling on him and he was stuck. It was endearing and so gross at the same time. He carefully used a corner of the blanket to remove the spit and took a moment to look at her again.

She looked relaxed, already deep asleep. The worry he had evaportated, knowing what a fever induce sleep looked like. This was just being tired from trying to be too strong for too long.

Even as she drooled due to the way her cheek rested against his bicep, he still thought she was beautiful. Warmth spread through his carapace. His heart squeezed and then he felt like it was being sawed in half.

These feelings that had bloomed in the time he'd spent with her, and they were wrong. She was his friend. That was all she would ever be. He'd already told himself that he could handle that. He didn't want to distance himself from her by saying anything stupid. So he'd hold this inside until it died out.

Eventually he would be able to look at her without wondering what it would be like to kiss her. Eventually he would be able to be near her without feeling like someone was playing hackysack with his heart. Eventually all she would be to him was a good friend he'd once had a crush on. Eventually...

Eventually he carefully picked her up, trying not to savor the feeling of her in his arms, and carried her to her bed. Once there he tucked her in and moved a few strands of hair from her face. He turned away right after, not letting himself get caught up in the emotions coursing through him.

He then made sure that all the doors and windows were locked except for the one he would be using. There were no unnessacry electronics left on. Then as he walked by them, before he'd almost left, he'd put the pills back to prevent Sophia from being able to reach them. He departed with a sigh that did nothing to ease the turmoil he felt.


	15. Ch 15

)O(*

OKAY, SOOOOO- This whole chapter is probably going to just be TOUGH to read, but I hope I don't bore you all too much. Please do read it though as if you don't, you're going to be SOOO FUCKING LOST afterwards. I won't be describing it like this EVER again, so please bear with me cause I sat and planned this all out like a fucking lunatic. This is the best I can do when it comes to this, forgive anything that doesn't make sense, I tried, okay?

And yeah, like the whole chapter is a flash back so I'm not italizing everything cause that gets annoying to read.

Thanks in advance.

)O(*

TWO WEEKS AGO*

The van/ church bus was packed. Sara drove as calmly as she could. She could have let one of the guys follow her but she didn't want to take the chance of drawing attention to themselves, so Becca sat next to her on the front bench and Marcus rode shotgun. In the back seat was her children. Their car seats took up all but the seat Donnie was in. Due to space, Mikey was laying down in the gap between the seats, jamming out to something on his phone. Mik and Splinter were in the third row with Raph uncomfortably trying to sit as far away from them as he could on the passenger side. Again, the space in the very back even held a passenger, Leo.

Despite the van's best capabilities, it was getting hot with all of the bodies sandwiched inside. Yet Sara was nearly frozen as the A/C blasted out of the vents in front of her. Her heart raced. This was her big moment, or it would be in about five minutes. She'd sunk hours into this, hell, months. As quietly as she could, she'd done all of this.

Splinter had caught her once. He was probably the only one that had noticed, or had any idea of what was about to happen. He wouldn't have told anyone, but that didn't mean that one of the guys hadn't figured something out. Especially Donnie because if one of them would have noticed something was up, it would have been him.

So far she hadn't recieved any alerts so the coast was clear. She pulled off the dirt road she was already on to a gravel one. A minute of driving up the twisting route lead her to the first gate. It was a standard security fence that she'd had installed mostly to keep other people out. A simple rolling gate was all that stood in the way here.

She could feel the tension in the van spike. One button press of the extra fob and it rolled open. So far noone had said anything but she could feel the curiousity rolling off her energetic brother as he shimmied his way from the floor to look out of the windows and windshield.

This time the path only curved back on itself twice. Just enough to hide the contents this inner area even during winter. As they rounded that final bend the whole of the area grew before them.

Sara had planned all of it. A custom seven foot privacy fence stretched on either side of a large metal gate. A box sat to the driver side and Sara pulled up to, second nature at this point for her. There was a number pad, but she didn't need that. Instead she used the large 'enter' button. A small chime sounded and Sara spoke her name into the speaker.

The gates slid open and she pulled into the actual drive. To her surprise, still no one had said anything. Was it not as impressive as she thought it would be? The path lead all the way up to the house, where she would be able to park, but there was also secondary parking just a few feet up the drive and she decided to use that one to give everyone time to ask whatever they wanted to as they walked.

When she stopped the van, silence greeted her as she turned to her family and smiled. "We're here!" She tried to sound happy but the stunned looks she was getting set her on edge a bit. Master Splinter seemed to be the only one who understood. She should have probably warned them or something. Still she knew that if she had they would have all jumped down her throat for it.

"This is much larger than I imagined when you told me about it. You have out done yourself, my child." Splinter broke the tension. With that all of them turned to look at their father instead. "Well, let us get out of this vehicle. I would like to stretch my legs." Splinter chuckled as he spoke. He waved a hand at the door and Raph jumped to open the sliding door.

She smiled at Splinter and jumped out of the car as well, going to the other side to start getting her kids out of the van. People bustled about for a while. She heard their questions as they talked to each other. _Where are we? How, why, did Master Splinter know? What is all of this?_

She waited until everyone was out of the car. She held Jillian in her carseat while Donnie took the boys. "I had this place built. For us and our kids. I made it as big as I could. I tried to get everything. Some things are still on their way and the rest we will have to build ourselves. The farmhouse is one thing, but this is ours." She spoke, addressing the group. "I know you all grew up in the sewers, but I can't allow my kids to grow up like that, I'm sorry. I'm not saying that we have to stop using the Lair altogether, but this is what I'm hoping we will make our new home. Once it's finished, at least."

"Wait, you own all of this?" Mikey gasped as he looked around. She understood his shock. She took a moment to look around the area again.

The path from the gate went up to the house and V'd off at different places to access different parts of the property. To the left of the path was a large fenced in area. It stretched all the way to a barn, a football field away. To the right was the parking and another path that lead to a smaller padlock. It wasn't nearly as large as the left, but she planned to keep chickens there. An expanse of open field was left until it reached the picket fencing that wrapped around the house itself.

She'd already had some plants laid out with room for them to grow around the fence. The fence was mostly to keep the kids in so it wasn't as gaudy as the other two that surrounded the outsides of the property.

The front of the massive house faced them with a peak of the side yard, but they were so far out from it that the details were lost just now. Still, Sara knew that behind the house was a large garage, big enough to fit three of their cars and all of their equipment with room left over to start a workspace for simple repairs.

"Yeah," she answered. "I built this for us, for my babies." She winked at Becca, who looked like she might need to get her jaw reattached to her face at some point. "And for any other babies that may or may not decide to happen." Becca turned to look at her and blushed while sticking her tongue out at her. "It's taken some time, and like I said, it's not done, but I want to do the rest with you all." She noticed a hurt look from Donnie but tried to brush it off. She knew what it said. "Come on, let me show you guys." With that she lead her family up the path to the house.

As they walked, they passed the few trees that dotted the path. They were fruit trees and still just barely bigger than saplings. Apples, mostly, but there were also some pears, cherries, peaches and apricots. Almost anything else wouldn't be able to survive the winter, so she'd left them out.

The house grew closer. Three stories, long and wide with a large porch that wrapped around the entirety of the house with proud pillars dotted along the entirety. Each story had been modeled after the pourch, two encompassing balconies tiered the exterior. A bit a farther down the first story were two more doors. She'd painted it a classic white, the paint still so new it looked like it glowed in the summer sun. On the roof a dome of glass glinted at them from the center. Two doors faced them next to a large bay window that had the curtains securing the interior, for now.

As was a habit for her, she checked the door and lock, making sure they were still locked. After she was sure no one had broken in, she used her key and unlocked it.

A large foyer welcomed them. To the left was a wall of coat hooks and a bench. To the right was a wall of closets that were empty at the moment. There was a door that lead to a small half bath, but she didn't bother showing that off because not everyone could fit in the foyer at the same time

Straight ahead you could see the counters in the kitchen, but she turned to her left.Chatter had accompanied them up the path and it only grew as they walked farther inside. The living room, which held the bay window, was already outfitted for life that included giant turtles and comparibly small humans.

Nearly everything in the house had been custom made, and if they didn't have it now, it was on it's way or being built. A large sectional sat in front of an equally large TV with an entertainment system that already had Mikey and Rebecca drooling over it. On the left back side of the sectional was an small shelf for toys for the kids.

There was a slim bookshelf next to the bay window. A small space was left empty that was meant for a custom recliner, which should show up in the next couple of days. A coffee table was nestled in between the sectional and entertainment stand with a large rug under it, incase of spills. She'd left this room the same cream color as the hallways, keeping it neutral. Other wise this room was bare, save for a door to the right and an open access to the kitchen and hallway.

Sara took this time to pull Jillian out of her carseat and Donnie followed her lead. Donald and Jordan huffed, annoyed at the treatment, but cooed and babbled once they were free of the carseats. Jillian remained quiet and on looking at the new surroundings. "I'll give you all the grand tour," Sara teased Jillian's nose, getting her daughter's attention. It also worked on the rest of her family.

She decided to go with the closest room, the door to the left of the living room space. Already aware of the contents, she opened the door and stood aside with Jillian on her hip. "The library and computer room," she announced. The left wall was a giant shelf she hoped to fill with books. In the middle of the room was a simple long table that held three computers. The right wall held another long table with two more computers that were seperated by a stretch of space. Five computers should be more than enough, had been Sara's idea and she'd filled the empty space with two printers and a small storage bin for paper and ink. The back wall had a desk and chair.

"It's small. The wall goes out a lot more," Leo commented.

"That's cause there's a different room," Sara tried not to roll her eyes as she answered. She gave everyone a few moments to look around before moving on to the kitchen to the right. To prove a point, the single door to the left of the kitchen was the first thing she pointed out. Inside was a pantry. It was cooler in here than anywhere else in the house. Along the walls were shelves, save for the area next to the right of the door that held a double door refrigerator. In the middle were two deep freezers with a high table sitting to the right.

Next she gestured to the kitchen at large. Looking at it head on there was a large, deep sink. There were counters to the left and right with a dishwasher under to the right. Farther right was the complex stove top and an oven. A space of counter top and then a massive fridge. A cabinet separated the fridge and a set of double stacked ovens. Then a metal stand was nestled in the corner. Another set of counters and cabinets took up the right wall. Against the closest wall was a large cabinet. In the middle was an island counter that had sturdy bar stools pushed up against the overhang.

Appliances littered the counters in random locations. She'd bought everything in a deep green. Anything that couldn't be green was stainless steal. The counters were a dark marble and apoxied smooth. Cabinets and counters were a dark wood that Sara couldn't remember the name of, she'd picked it solely for the color. A few on the right hand side were glass in the middle, allowing a peak at the contents.

She took a few more steps inside of the kitchen, turning to the left set of double doors. The insides were clear through the glass, but still, she opened the doors. In the middle of the deep red painted room was a giant wooden table. This one wasn't as dark as the cabinets, she'd opted for something lighter. There were a total of twenty chairs around the oval monstrosity. She'd spent ages working with builders to make sure that this table would fit.

The chairs were nearly touching, but she'd been adamant. She needed to have seats for everyone, guests and kids included. The plans to the house had been changed to make room for it and she was proud of it. The only this she was more proud of was deeper in the house. A large chandelier hung in the middle of the table, simple with clear glass crystals and many tiny bright bulbs. Due to the size of the massive table there was almost nothing else there, save a sliding door that would lead outside, but she wasn't ready to show that off just yet.

"The dining room, that door goes to the back yard, but I'll get back to that. Down the hall we go." She guided, but noticed Mikey eyeieyeing the kitchen pretty hard. He opened all the ovens and checked out the stove top. She was happy he liked it. She'd agonizing over the details for the house for almost a month before doing anything.

The first door was on the right. She didn't bother opening this one, simply told them that it held another half bath. She opened the next door on the right, though, glad to see that all the doors were shut still. Something as simple as a door being left open could hint at someone being here when they shouldn't have.

It was nearly empty except for a shelving unit on the far wall and two armchairs and some stuffed animals. The walls were painted a hard white. She planned on having Mikey decorate it, along with many of the other rooms in the house. "A play room for the kids, that door on the left leads to the next room." Leaving the door open, she stayed in the hall as everyone took a moment to look inside.

"Across the hall is a sitting room, incase someone doesn't want to watch whatever is on in the living room. The door next to it is a closet." An archway, void of a door, showed a couch with a smaller TV and entertainment system. Another bookshelf sat against the right wall, but this room was also plain. Warm tan walls also kept this room neutral. Just down the hall was a large closest but she felt no need to open it up.

She opened the second part of the play room and looked around. One large desk stood on the left side of the room with a chalk board behind it. Six desks sat facing it, another shelving unit sat against the far wall and on the right was the door to the play room.

"A class room, so we can teach you how to read," Sara smiled down at Jillian and gave her a kiss on her forehead. She turned to Donnie who was the first to look in and then step to the side. She felt her throat tighten at the look in his eyes. Joy, hope, love, it was all right there. She knew they'd talk about keeping this all a secret later, no doubt about that, but right now she focused on the good things as she kissed her boys' foreheads as well.

"There is another bathroom down there, and then the stairs, but I want everyone to see this first." She motioned to the last door on the left and walked down to it. This was her hope for the house, this was where the safety of her plans came in. "This is the panic room. I've already stocked it, right now it only responds to my fingerprint and voice, but I'll add everyone soon." She handed Jillian off to Mik and turned to the lock. Finger down, a beep sounded and she said her name. Another beep and the heavy metal door slid open.

Inside were two sets of metal bunk beds infront of the door. All along the linings of the walls were supplies and weapons. The left of the wall had a ham radio and a few handguns. In the left corner there were rifles and shotguns with ammo for everything sitting on the lowest shelf. The rest of the shelving on the far wall held bucket meals, freeze dried or dehydrated meals that only needed water and heat. The right corner had a few small tanks of propane a stove. The right wall had water stores and medical supplies. The outside wall had a privacy screen for anyone that would need to use the chemical toilet that it hid. Closer to the door held some board games and a stash of candy and books.

To the right near the medical supplies was a basin sink and a hospital bed. Between the bunk beds and the right side of the room was a couch. The room wasn't all it seemed, though. She walked into the room and motioned for Raph to come over. She pushed against the couch and her brother got the hint, shoving it out of the way. Under the couch was a manhole cover. A chorus of comments came at her. Without her needing to say anything, Raph beat her to lifting the cover up, exposing a ladder and a ten foot drop.

"An escape route to the basement and the other half of this room. These walls are the thickest parts of this house. This room has it's own air supply with two different feeding locations outside of the house, and as you can see I've stocked it with enough food and water to take care of everything for everyone currently in our family for at least two weeks. There is another part of this room downstairs, we'll go there next. I mean, unless someone wants to see some empty bedrooms first." Sara explained with a laugh at the end. Basement was an easy choice for everyone to make.

There had been enough standing room for everyone in the panic room, and she was proud of that as well. Everything else could go to shit and she knew that they would all be safe in there. She prayed that it would never be needed, but she believed in having something and not needing it, than needing it and not having it.

As they all exited the room, they made their was to the end of the hall on the right side. She didn't bother explaining the steal doors to the right of the stairs. It was an elevator. The smallest she could by and have installed. It connected every floor of the house, the intent was for Splinter and Mik as they aged. She wanted to make sure they cold still move around once their ages started catching up to them.

Instead of having to put baby gates up, she had taken something she'd seen online. There was half of a door blocking the landing to the stairs. There was a pressure lock on top and the knob had to be turned to enter, safeguarding the main floor from her crawling children. She took Jillian from Mik to help the rat with going down the stairs and descended after flipping on the light switch.

At the bottom, across from the stairs was a replica of the dojo. She slid the door open, but otherwise just walked past it. Except for the door on the right which lead to the other part of the panic room, the rest of the basement was a wide open space. Rather, it would have been wide open but she'd already started installing exercise equipment. A few treadmills, a benchpress, pull up bars, weight stations and a few more machines split the open area in the middle. On either side were soft mats and empty space. Sparring or training could be done here with less restrictions on everyone involved.

She went to the security door and re-entered her information. This door slid just the same as the previous one had. The inside of this one was more bleak than the previous one.

Two green vans with blacked out windows stood ready all the way to the left and there were a couple more weapons on the walls. A giant garage door sat ahead of the vans, ready to be opened and lead to an exit through a tunnel that was hidden behind the house and garage.

Rifles and shotguns hung nearby, ready. The ones upstairs weren't loaded, even though the ammo was near, but these were. She warned everyone of it, just to be sure nothing happened.

Next to the ladder on the left was a sealed room. There was a medical bed, but there was also a surveillance system and two very specific computers. This would be Donnie's knew lab. There were enough shelves for him to transfer everything from the lair and get anything else he needed. A large table held welding equipment and a face shield.

She explained everything. If something was to happen and they were compromised here, they would be able to gather everything they would need and take the vans to get out as fast as possible. As soon as the button was pressed on the garage door, a timer would go off and the exit would open in thirty seconds. She couldn't garentee that they would be one-hundred percent safe here, only that they would be about as safe as they were in the lair.

"My daughter, I thank you." Splinter spoke first. "We talked about this, but I could not have imagined what it would actually look like. Thank you." Splinter bowed to her and she felt her face go red. She bowed back. "Master Splinter, if you would like, Leo could show you how to use the elevator, I'm going to show everyone the second story, but there's not much there. Afterwards we'll go up to the third. That is where all of the adult's rooms are."

"I'm quite sure I can handle a few flights of stairs." Splinter chuckled. Worry sprouted up inside of her gut, but she nodded.

Just as she had said, the second story was plain. There were four doors on the right once she stepped off the stairs, and two visible doors on the left. She'd set the rooms up so each bedroom shared a bathroom in the middle of them. To the right there was a door across from the stairs and then a break where the bathroom was before another door to another bedroom. Then right next to it was another door and then a break before the last door. To the left there was only room for one such combination. then at the end of the hall way there were two more rooms, but these were different. To the left and positioned above the foyer and living room was a master bedroom with a full bath all to itself. To the right and around a corner made by the last bedroom was another master bedroom and bathroom, sitting above the dining room. Each bedroom had a door that lead to the outside balcony, but they were all locked in place for now.

She'd already chosen the first three rooms for her children, but she had wanted as many rooms as possible. The two master bedrooms were for guest, or Marcus if he decided to move in after a while. Casey and April were another choice, but Sara didn't see them moving in. They were happy having their own space.

She lead the procession of people up the next flight. Jillian was starting to get heavy on her arm, but she readjusted her. Only one more after this. There weren't as many rooms on this floor. Each door lead to a master bedroom, each with it's own master bathroom. There were two doors on the right, one on the left and two mimics of their down stairs counterparts around each corner.

"I already took the liberty of giving Donnie and I the room at the end, the rooms are empty right now, but we'll change that as soon as we can." Each room was nearly identical. The position of things were flipped, but they were simple. Closet against the wall farthest from the bathroom, and then doors that lead to the balcony and then a door to each bathroom. The bathrooms had double sinks, extra large bathtubs and seperate showers, allowing soothing baths even for someone as large-shelled as Raph. A few cabinets for towles. She'd left all of it blank so they could fill it how they each liked.

"One last flight and then we can go back down and go outback." The final flight lead to the roof. In the middle of the flat expanse was a green house with some of her plants already growing inside. There wasn't much to see up here, but it gave a wonderful view of the area bellow and around.

The barns, the garage, the back yard. The sun shined down and she took this time to rest and turn towards her family. "Well, what do you all think?"

"It's amazing, Sara! How on earth did you do all of this? When did you do all of this?" Becca gushed and Sara noticed how tightly she'd been trying to keep her excitement reigned in.

"Yeah," Donnie said dryly. "When, exactly, did you do this? Without telling anyone?" He said, his voice hard. Oh, there it was. He was angry, or maybe, hurt: probably both.

"When I found out I was pregnant. Like I said..." She took a moment to try to sound understanding. "I know how you all grew up. I know Papa, uh, Master Splinter, did his best to raise you all. I wanted to do my best for these guys, too. I wanted to give them somewhere safe to be, somewhere besides the sewers." She cuddled Jillian. "I wanted it, for them, but I wanted us all to stay together, too. I started working on it a while ago. Only Master Splinter ever caught me when I had to come check on anything." She winked to him and he chuckled.

Donnie let out a huff and then bent down a bit to nuzzle the top of her head before kissing her forehead. "Thank you, Sara." He murmured before looking down at the boys. "Your mom is already spoiling you and you don't even know it yet." He tsked at them with a laugh. He was forgiving her for keeping this from him and Sara felt her heart melt all over again.

"Hey, look!" Mikey and Raph shouted together. From the roof the expanse of the backyard was laid out for them. Near the back door was a large fire pit with chairs around it. A grill sat away from the house with a brick oven neighboring it. There was a patch of flowering plants arranged in a circle just away from the large patio. Three picnic tables sat out in the middle. Then there far in the distance was a pool, which was what they were pointing at.

"Last one in eats my socks," Mikey yelled. For a splint second Sara almost forgot she was dealing with ninjas. Mikey jumped from the roof, spinning in mid air. Marcus, who wasn't used to such displays let out a horrified shriek. She rushed to the side of the fence that guarded the edges of the roof in time to watch him as he shimmied his way from the last balcony to the porch before tearing down the yard.

Raph mimicked him, yelling after his younger brother's shell. Splinter let out a laugh, which snapped Marcus out of his momentary horror. Leo seemed to think about it for only a moment longer before taking off after both of them. "Well talk about moving in here later, okay?" He called back to the rest of the group. Sara looked over to Donnie. His eyes followed his brothers. "Give Donald to Marcus, I'll take Jordan. Go get them." She laughed as Donnie hurried to follow her directions and proceed to shimmy down the columns to the yard where he joined his brothers.

)O(*

Okay so 5000 words of description. My bad, ya'll. I hope I was able describe it well enough for you, cause I'm not doing it like this again. Much love to anyone that made it through all of this.


	16. ch 16

)O(*

If you got past that last chapter, I applaud you. Here's something that isn't so hard to swallow.

)O(*

Leo woke up to his phone buzzing next to him. _Hey, thanks for coming over yesterday. Sorry I fell asleep on you._ Tabitha-Lynn He looked at the text and smiled. It must have still been early for him, but it didn't matter now. He was awake and had no intention of going back to bed now. His fingers itched. He wanted to reply. It was the polite thing to do, anyway. There couldn't be anything derived from it, just being polite. Inside he knew what it would mean if he did. He would coax the feelings inside of himself.

Once upon a time he'd watched as Donnie had struggled against his feelings for April. Everyone else had known that it wasn't possible. April's attentions on Casey had been clear to them, even if it wasn't clear to Donnie. That might not have been true, though. Donnie had known but tried, regardless. Something inside of his brother had called out, demanding that he at least make his feelings known. Still, the pain that had caused his younger brother had been massive at the time. It had only been after a polite rejection that Donnie had finally tried to stop caring.

Leo had to stop caring now. If Raph wouldn't have cornered him a while ago then maybe he wouldn't have had to think about these things. However, now he was forced to look at it head on.

 _'She doesn't want me, ain't even looking at me. I give up, do whatever, but just know, if you fuck this up, Fearless, I'll be there to help her.' Raph had snarled and stomped about for the rest of the day._

Leo shook his head and looked back down at the phone. "It's okay, how do you feel/" He typed out quickly, only noticing his typo once the text was sent.

 _I'm good, thanks to you... and Mikey's soup. I'm still surprised he can cook so well._ Tabitha-Lynn

"Yeah... I'm glad you'er feeling better."

Leo glared at the phone, annoyed at his mistakes.

 _Well, since I AM feeling better, would you guys like to come over tonight? I would like to see you again._ Tabitha-Lynn

 _I have to get into work real quick, I'll text back on break :)_ Tabitha-Lynn

Leo read the messages again. Then one more time. A third time just to be sure. Maybe it was just him taking the text in a different way than she'd meant to send it, but it still pulled at his heart. She wanted to see him.

No, no, she'd said she wanted _them_ to come over. So that was it. Not just him. Nope, nothing to worry about. Still, his heart pulled, wanting the message to be for him and him alone.

She was at work now. No reason to rush to reply. He still had to talk to the others about it. He rose from his bed and went about getting ready for the day. Usually he would meditate, but he knew that would be out of his reach right now.

As he went down stairs he heard the babies waking up, fussing. They were old enough now that they were getting cereal mixed with fruits for breakfast before Sara would feed them. He decided to help and went and started to heat up some water in the kettle. He pulled the jars down from the cabinet and set them on the table.

He'd learned his lesson on giving them the prune or apple baby food pretty soon and instead set out the banana. The fussing had stopped and he knew that Sara and Donnie were already up and changing diapers. Mikey stumbled his way down the stairs and nodded to him. He pulled out eggs and milk from the fridge, checking it to make sure it wasn't expired. He'd start breakfast here soon. Leo set the things for Sara and Donnie on the table then went to move out of the way.

"Hey, how did Tasha like the soup?" Mikey asked, yawning.

"She said it was good. It looked like it was the first thing she'd eaten. Thank you for making it for her."

"It's cool, dude. It was nice making something simple. Hey, are we going over today or is she still sick?"

"Her text said she was fine. She wants us to come over, actually." Leo relayed the details while trying to stay unattatched. He should have known that it wouldn't have worked with the mini mind reader that was his brother. "Did she say she wants _us_ to come over, or _yo_ _u_?" Mikey nudged him with an elbow and Leo could feel the blush that was going up his neck. "Us." He coughed and tried to leave the kitchen again.

"Hey, I could use some help with breakfast," Mikey laughed. Leo stopped dead in his tracks. No one ever asked for his help in the kitchen. It was like asking a tornado to help. "Don't worry, I'll do the cooking. Just stir this for me." Mikey handed him a bowl with a whisk sticking in what looked like pancake mix.

A light clicked on in Leo's head and he wanted to curse his youngest brother's coniving ways. He couldn't not help, but if he did he'd be trapped in this room with his nosy brother until the task was done. He wanted to curse himself for not being able to tell him no.

Agitated, he took the bowl. He could do this much. He started mixing, breaking up the large clumps of mix that started to form. "It seems like Raph has backed off of her, why do you think that is?" Mikey started to talk. "Becca thinks it's because Raph noticed she liked someone already. Raph's not like Donnie was way back when. He doesn't seem to like competion for a girl... I wonder who it is that she likes..."

"Done!" Leo announced and shoved the bowl onto the counter, nearly running away from the kitchen in his haste to get away from his brother. He almost ran into Sara who was zombie walking with Donald and Jordan. The elder of the two looked to be biting Sara, even though she showed no signs of noticing. Donnie was behind her with Jillian. The little princess, who had been content up until then, took one look at Leo and started to scream, her arms reaching for him. Damn it, he couldn't just not hold her. How full of double negatives was this morning going to be? He asked himself as he rolled his eyes and took his niece from her dad and nearly stomped his way back into the kitchen. A smug look on Mikey's face ground against Leo's nerves as he suddenly wished he'd just meditated instead.

)O(*

 _Oh, dear lord_, Becca groaned internally. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a damn spoon. They'd been playing this stupid ass game all night long and she was just about as tired of it as the other two were. Donnie and Mikey were the only two that had come besides Leo. Raph was pouting at home.

Something had happened between Leo and Tabitha and it was frustrating watching it take place now. She wasn't sure when the dynamic had changed, but oh boy was it clear what was going on.

Tabitha would get closer to Leo than was 'normal' and Leo would almost allow it to happen before he pulled away and tried to put space between them. It had been an enjoyable sight to witness... for about the first ten minutes. Now all she wanted to do was just push the giant dumbass into Tabitha and see what happened.

She felt Mikey's hand on her thigh and she turned to look at him. He shook his head at her. Was it that clear or had he been thinking the same thing? "We have to give them time." He whispered so low she wasn't sure she'd heard him for a moment. She frowned and scruched up her face, showing her displeasure. He just chuckeld and nuzzled her neck.

Temporarily removed from the current situation, her mind wandered. Sara had mentioned kids, and not just her own. She'd given Becca the space to worry about her own. The idea had rooted itself in her mind and now more than before, she wanted to know what it would be like to have a child or two of her own.

"Thank you again for cooking for me, Mikey." Tabitha smiled at him.

"No problem, Tasha, Leo was the real hero, bringing it over." Mikey graciously commented. Becca wanted to die. Were they like this too? "I know, he really was my hero last night. As he put it, my brain might have melted." Tabitha teased. Leo looked like the definiton of uncomfortable. He was trying to look anywhere but at Tabitha. Tabitha however seemed to have her eyes glued to him.

"Mikey! Mikey! Mikey!" Sophia chanted as she waved something around in front of Rebecca's face. Becca took the paper and looked it over. Yes, there was her boyfriend drawn across a sheet of construction paper. "Very good," Becca praised. Sophia beamed and then nearly ran the two and a half feet to Leo. "If I make him stronger, it'll be you!" Sophia giggled. Leo laughed with her, surprised. "Hey, not cool!" Mikey protested.

"You sure it wouldn't be Raph?" Tabitha teased Sophia but reached out a hand and nudged Leo's arm. Becca tried to not roll her eyes, really, she did. Sophia took a moment to think and then replied with a smirk, "I said stronger, Aunt Tasha, not grumpier." Becca couldn't help herself as she failed to suppress a cackle.

A while passed as they let the tv drone on. Leo kept touching his arm and shifting about in the chair. Tabitha looked like she was trying to levitate something on the coffee table that she refused to look away from. Donnie seemed blissfully unaware of what was going on around him as he looked at his phone. No doubt in Becca's mind that there were pictures of the triplets sliding across the screen.

)O(*

Tabitha closed the window and facepalmed. That hadn't gone the way she'd planned. She was happy to see everyone again, Sophia had been, too, but she wanted a moment alone with Leo. It had become obvious that he wasn't picking up on her flirting. It had been so long, she wasn't even sure that she was doing it right.

She groaned. Even if she wasn't out of practice was there even a proper way to try to flirt with a turtle? She tried to recall any animal knowledge that she had and came up empty on turtles except for a little anatomy. The reason she knew that sent her stomach to rolling once again at the memory.

Startled out of her downward spiralling thoughts by her cell phone chiming, she nearly threw it before reading the message.

 _Thanks for having us over. (Rebecca)_

 _No problem, thanks for coming over. (Tabitha-Lynn)_

It was short and simple, but it felt familiar now. Text that asked how she was doing. Them letting her know that they made it home safe. It was a kind of endearment that she looked forward to now, more and more.

Sighing, she set the phone down, determined to get some sleep. Maybe she was still tired from her fever. Maybe she was still a bit delierious. Maybe that was why she almost immediately picked her phone back up and opened an incognito tab.

)O(*

Sara had welcomed home her family and then, as had become her habit, she opened her spyware app on her laptop. She still didn't trust Tabitha completely, even if the woman hadn't seemed to harbor any ill will. Yet.

Still, Sara grabbed her cup of coffee and took a drink as she caught up on the recent activity on Tabitha's phone. She noticed that she was actively in incognito mode. Interested, Sara took another long drink from her mug as she bypassed the laughable security of the phone. Seemed like a handful of searches.

She started to scan the list of things searched when her face became hot and she almost spat out her coffee.

Turtle Mating Habits

Turtle Mating _Rituals_

Turtle Penis Size

What Is A Cloaca

Sara snapped the laptop shut. Oh, how she wished it had just been porn. Why couldn't it have been porn? No. Now she knew that this woman was at least **curious** in who she could only assume was her brother. Her 'big brother' at that. It set in her stomach and made her regret ever looking. Even after years of compliling the secret of strangers, this just felt... wrong. Her skin felt like it was crawling. Sara shivered to herself. Maybe she'd finally learned a lesson.

)O(*

So I was going to upload the next chapter when I realized that I didn't upload this one. So here's this thrown together thing and the next chapter comes out tonight/ early tomorrow morning. Sorry, y'all.


	17. Sorry

So I feel like you should all know why this is happening.

I'm going on indefinite hiatus/ abandoning this story.

The reasons for this are:

The chapter I was supposed to update got wiped somehow. Its just gone. Not on my phone, not on fanfiction, just fucking gone.

The above reason and other such things seem to be haunting this fic of mine, making me feel like the universe is against me writing this story.

I have been forcing myself to write for this story amd its just not fun.

I actually don't like a large amount of what I've written, probably cause of the previous reason.

So, I'm sorry to all of the people that stuck with me and this series. I'll keep writing... but at least for now, the story stops here. Thanks for all the support. Maybe I'll see you in the comments of some other stories.


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